Agriculture and Fisheries Council

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the outcome was of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 21 and 22 December 2004; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: My hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Commons) and I represented the UK at a meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels on 21–22 December 2004. Fisheries Ministers from Scotland and Northern Ireland were also present.
	The main items for decision were on fisheries. The Council agreed on Total Allowable Catches and quotas for 2005 and on related measures. Much of the discussion at Council centred on the need for further measures to protect depleted cod stocks.
	The Commission had proposed a series of closed areas in the North Sea. Ministers, however, were not convinced of the case for the Commission's proposal which would have significant impact on the fishing industry but without clear benefit for the North Sea cod stock. The UK believes that closed areas have a part to play in fisheries management and we indicated at the Council that we would be willing to consider more radical measures, including closed areas, if the scientific advice on the state of stocks justified such an approach.
	The Council agreed a general reduction in fishing days within the North Sea, west of Scotland, and Eastern Channel to protect cod stocks. However, in recognition of the role that large mesh gear plays in reducing catches of juvenile fish, the Council agreed that fishermen using mesh of 120 mm mesh should receive an extra day, subject to administrative sanctions for infringements. The UK's mixed cod/haddock/whiting fleet already uses 120 mm and will, therefore continue to be able to fish for 15 days per month as soon as the new arrangements are in place.
	The Council also agreed to implement UK proposals for improved controls to ensure that illegal landings do not undermine cod recovery and for scientific monitoring of discarding. The European Commission will present detailed proposals to improve control and enforcement in early 2005.
	The Council agreed to apply days at sea limits to the western Channel to protect the sole stock. Fishermen fishing with beam trawls or fixed nets will be restricted to 20 days fishing in the area per month.
	Ministers agreed that the closure to demersal fishing of an area to the West of Scotland (the 'windsock' closure) should continue in the same form as in 2004. For the sixth successive year, there will be a closure on the western Irish Sea in the spring to protect the spawning stock. The UK reached a bilateral agreement with Ireland to take forward a review of the Irish Sea closure with industry participation. Fishermen who spend most of their time in the Irish Sea will receive one additional fishing day (instead of two in 2004) in recognition of the reduction in effort as a result of the closure. The Council also agreed to implement a proposal from the UK, French and Irish industries for a cod spawning closure in the area between south west England and Ireland from January to March. However at the request of Belgium, there will be a derogation for beam trawlers in January.
	The UK (TACs) secured at the Council a number of increases in Total Allowable Catches in commercially important stocks where there was scientific evidence that previous TACs were out of line with the real abundance of the stocks. This meant that fishermen were having to unnecessarily discard catches with no conservation benefit. The stocks concerned were:
	
		
			  2005 TAC (tonnes) Percentage increase 
		
		
			 Western Channel sole 865 188 
			 Western monkfish 25,082 20 
			 Monkfish (North Sea/west of Scotland) (1)15,000 — 
			 West of Scotland nephrops 12,700 12 
			 Irish Sea nephrops 19,544 12 
		
	
	(1) With the prospect of a further increase with agreement on management measures early in 2005.
	The Council also reached agreement on cuts in fishing effort and quotas on deep sea stocks. A closed area will be introduced to protect orange roughy which is thought to be particularly at risk. There will be a review of management arrangements for deep sea stocks in 2005.
	The European Commission presented a Communication on simplification of the Common Fisheries Policy and this will be followed by an action plan next year.
	On agriculture, the Presidency reported on two conferences that had considered the handling of animal disease outbreaks, including zoonoses (animal diseases transmissible to humans), from both the financial and disease control angles. The Commission indicated that it would be taking forward work in this area with a view to developing a more strategic approach to animal health. I strongly supported this initiative.
	The Council held an orientation debate on measures to deal with illegally logged timber imports. I joined a number of delegations in welcoming progress in this area while noting that further work to counter attempts at circumvention of EU controls was needed. I also welcomed the Commission's intention to work closely with interested NGOs on this subject.
	The Council endorsed conclusions on the application of cross compliance conditions in the reformed CAP. Member states agreed to review the working of these provisions in the light of further experience.
	The Agriculture Commissioner informed the Council of her intention to prepare a paper reflecting on the possibilities for further simplification of the CAP; it would come to the Council towards the end of 2005.
	Under other business, Hungary, supported by several producing member states, expressed concern about the protection of geographical indications for wine in the EU/Australia wine agreement.
	Sweden sought views from the Commission on its plans for proposals to improve the welfare of farmed livestock and the Commission indicated that further work on pig welfare would be undertaken in 2005 and proposals on broiler and laying hen welfare were also likely.
	Over lunch, Ministers discussed the current state of play in the Doha Development Agenda negotiations and Commissioner Fischer Boel reported on her recent contacts with other parties in Geneva.

Air Pollution

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's strategy is for reducing (a) air pollution and (b) the impact of air pollution on (i) the environment and (ii) human health.

Alun Michael: The Government's policies on improving air quality are set out in detail in the Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, published in January 2000 and Addendum, published in February 2003. The Strategy includes objectives for the main pollutants of concern to protect people's health and ecosystems and explains the measures that are in place to reduce emissions of harmful pollutants from all sectors, including road transport and industry. Copies are available via the Department's website at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality.

Beef Exports

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the value of exports of British beef to (a) France, (b) Italy and (c) Germany was in each of the last two years.

Alun Michael: The following table shows the value of total exports from the UK of beef to France, Italy and Germany for the years 2002 and 2003. This will include re-exports of imported beef. The Overseas Trade Statistics do not separately identify exports of British beef.
	
		UK exports of beef to France, Italy and Germany 2002–03 £ million
		
			 Country 2002 2003 Total 
		
		
			 France 1.2 0.6 1.8 
			 Italy 0.5 1.4 1.9 
			 Germany 2.4 2.1 4.6 
			 Total 4.1 4.2 8.3 
		
	
	Note:
	Totals may not match sum of parts due to rounding.
	Source:
	HM Customs and Excise. Data prepared by Trade statistics, Food Chain Analysis 3, Defra

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will reply to the letter dated 10 November 2004 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Carol Denis.

Alun Michael: The Department has no record of the correspondence referred to by the right hon. Member.
	If he would like to supply me with a copy I shall ensure he receives a response.

Country Shows

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with (a) the Country Landowners Association, (b) the Historic Houses Association and (c) the National Farmers' Union about the effects of Home Office Circular 13/2000 on country shows.

Alun Michael: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State and members of the ministerial team meet these organisations and many other on a variety of issues but this issue has not been raised with us formally. Comments made by the CLA have been brought to my attention by one Government MP and one correspondent from the West Midlands. I have informed them both that my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Sport and Tourism (Mr. Caborn), and his officials have met representatives from the CLA, the Historic Houses Association and the Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations and have concluded that the proposed fees for large events should not cause a problem for country shows. I understand that the CLA has now made a statement to that effect.

Departmental Staff

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of her Department's staff are based in London.

Alun Michael: Information on regional distribution of staff as at 1 April 2003 is available in the Libraries of both Houses, and also at: http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management information/statistical information/statistics/contents for civil service statistics 2003 report/index.asp
	Table D shows the numbers of staff by regional distribution.
	Figures relating to 1 April 2004 are due to be published during February 2005.

Environmental Schemes

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the costs to UK companies of parallel participation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the Climate Change Agreement.

Elliot Morley: The costs of participation in both EU ETS and CCAs have not been estimated. However, the current proposals involving a certain degree of overlap in reporting were a response to industry's concerns that separating the targets between the two schemes would be too difficult. The data required for reporting is essentially the same for the two schemes.

Flooding

Roger Casale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action she has taken to update the list of areas at risk from flooding to take account of forecasts by climate change experts; and what proposals on this she has received from the Environment Agency.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency is responsible for flood risk mapping in England. Areas at risk of flooding are shown on the Flood Map on the agency's website. This data is also provided to local planning authorities and others enabling them to make decisions about future development and planning. The Flood Map takes account of the current conditions, and does not show the anticipated effects of future climate change.
	The Environment Agency is currently undertaking a scoping study to identify the best way to depict the likely increase in the risk of flooding. A number of options are being considered. The agency anticipate that this scoping will be complete by summer 2005.

River Itchen

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to facilitate the improvement in the navigability of (a) the River Itchen, north of Southampton and (b) other rivers in Hampshire; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, has no direct power to facilitate the improvement of navigability of the River Itchen or any other non-navigable river. Those wishing to improve the navigability of non-navigable rivers are free to apply to the Secretary of State for an order for this purpose under the Transport and Works Act 1992. They will be expected to justify their proposals and any objections will be carefully considered.

Bangladesh

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much (a) financial, (b) material, (c) personnel and (d) other aid the UK Government (i) pledged and (ii) delivered to Bangladesh after the floods in 2004.

Hilary Benn: The UK Government allocated £10 million through DFID to meet immediate flood emergency needs of the floods in July 2004. £5 million of this was channelled through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and £5 million through the World Food Programme (WFP). Supporting these two organisations ensured that both food and non-food emergency needs of those affected by the flood were met. This initial £10 million provided food packages of rice, pulses, oil, salt and nutritionally fortified high-energy biscuits; and non-food support, including shelter and agricultural support (such as provision of seedlings) to over 900,000 families (4.5 million people) affected by the floods.
	In August the United Nations launched its Consolidated Appeal for $210 million (£117 million) to meet relief and recovery needs for the next 6 months. Again, the UK Government acted swiftly to meet the extensive recovery and rehabilitation needs of Bangladesh. On 18 August, DFID's Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, (Mr. Thomas), announced an additional £15 million through DFID for Bangladesh to support the repair, replacement and maintenance of roads and bridges; to provide food, shelter, clean water, sanitation, medial supplies; and to provide funds for cash-for-work programmes to give people affected by the floods the opportunity to earn income to help recover from the floods.
	From this £15 million, £1 million has been channelled to the World Food Programme to support their provision of food to those affected by the floods. £2 million has been channelled through the UNDP to provide temporary and longer-term shelter to flood affected families, working in partnership with the Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED). Another £4 million has been channelled through the UNDP to support NGO-managed 'cash-for-work' programmes. £2 million has been channelled to the World Health Organisation (WHO) through the UNDP to provide medical supplies to maternal and child welfare centres and urban clinics. £2 million has been channelled through the UNDP to United Nations Children's Fund (UNCIEF) to work with the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) to restore access to safe water and sanitation facilities. The final £4 million was provided to the Government of Bangladesh's Roads and Highways Department to support their request for emergency financing for roads, bridges and culverts damaged by the recent floods.
	A further £4 million was channelled to the World Food Programme's Emergency Response Programme (EMOP) in October 2004. This will enable the poorest flood victims to have continued access to food during the period of scarcity, which has followed the floods.
	Staff from the DFID Bangladesh office were extensively involved in responding to the floods in 2004 but no other personnel were involved.
	The UK Government expenditure that is channelled through the European Commission and the multilateral development banks has also contributed to the total humanitarian assistance. The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) provided $5.3 million through the UN Flash Appeal, $230 million is being provided through the World Bank and $180 million through the Asian Development Bank as loans to the Government of Bangladesh for a post-flood recovery and assistance programmes.

Darfur

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the incidence of malaria in refugee camps in Darfur.

Hilary Benn: According to the United Nations (UN) Morbidity and Mortality Bulletin, between 22 May and 31 December 2004, there were a total of 168,584 clinically diagnosed Malaria cases, including 319 deaths reported in Darfur. The greatest distribution of cases was reported in West Darfur. The figures are from two thirds of the internally displaced people (IDP) settlements and hospitals in the region, which covers 1.1 million of the conflicted affected population.
	The traditional malaria season in Sudan runs from May through to November, and is therefore the numbers of reported cases are expected to ease off early into the 2005. Access to internally displaced people, security, and the poor provision of health care facilities in some areas continue to hamper the diagnosis and treatment of malaria cases.

Iraq

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what research is being conducted on the impact of the war on Iraqi (a) health and (b) mortality.

Hilary Benn: The most recent research focusing on health and mortality in Iraq has been published by Medact, a non-governmental organisation, and by The Lancet.
	The Medact report, published in November 2004, was critical of the Iraqi health system, but recognised that the institutional weaknesses were longstanding and pre-date the 2003 conflict and that the Iraqi Ministry of Health (MoH) was addressing these. Medact also acknowledged that health data on Iraq are patchy, often unreliable and that their consultants were unable to visit Iraq to collect field data due to the security situation. The Iraqi MoH has issued a swift and strong rebuttal of the Medact report.
	Improving health services presents major challenges and will take time. Despite security constraints, steady progress is being made, and many more hospitals are now functioning and have better access to medicines. Since the Medact survey was conducted the MoH have produced Planning Guidelines for 2005, with support from donors, to meet these challenges. The UN and World Bank managed multi-donor trust funds provide support to the health sector, focusing on the improvement of emergency and primary health care services, which affect the poorest and most vulnerable. DFID has contributed £70 million to the multi-donor trust funds and has also provided technical assistance to the MoH.
	The Lancet article of 29 October 2004, looked at mortality in Iraq. As the Foreign Secretary explained in his written statement to Parliament on 17 November 2004, Official Report, column 93WS, the Government believe that the Iraqi authorities remain in the best position to monitor the casualties of their nationals.

Ministerial Engagements

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the ministerial engagements (a) out of London and (b) in London that he has cancelled since 1 January 2004.

Charlotte Atkins: The Secretary of State and other Ministers carry out frequent engagements both in and outside London and it is occasionally necessary to cancel such engagements for parliamentary or other ministerial business. Details of cancelled engagements could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Burma

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the merits of imposing a ban on imports from Burma; and if she will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Government have a long-standing policy of not encouraging British companies to trade with Burma and we offer no support to companies who wish to do so.
	As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said in the House on 25 June 2003, Official Report, column 1042,
	"we do not believe that trade is appropriate when the regime continues to suppress the basic human rights of its people".
	Through the EU's Common Position on Burma we have imposed a comprehensive programme of targeted measures on the regime. We regularly review the terms and conditions of the Common Position with our EU partners.
	We favour multilateral targeted measures against Burma wherever possible because these have a greater practical impact and send a stronger political signal. We will therefore continue to support multilateral action through the EU's Common Position on Burma.

Post Offices

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 11 January 2005, Official Report, column 421W, on the post office (rural subsidy), what the average assigned office payment to sub postmasters is; and how many (a) rural, (b) urban and (c) urban deprived sub-post offices received assigned office payments.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Payment to individual sub postmasters are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Art Exports

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to place a temporary export licence ban on Damien Hirst's The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991) the Shark; and what reports she has received of attempts to keep the object in the country.

Estelle Morris: The export controls on objects of cultural interest apply only to objects manufactured or produced more than 50 years before the date of exportation. This means that Damien Hirst's The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living will not require an export licence; and I, therefore, do not have the power to intervene in its export.

Clwyd, South Constituency

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Clwyd south constituency, the effects on Clwyd, South of her Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Richard Caborn: Most of the matters for which the Department is responsible in England have been devolved in Wales to the National Assembly for Wales. However, there are some reserved areas in which the Government has introduced initiatives which affect the Clwyd, South constituency.
	The Licensing Act 2003 (Commencement) Order 2003 repealed those parts of the Licensing Act 1964 which allowed the local government electorate in the counties and county boroughs of Wales to requisition polls to decide whether licensed premises should be allowed to open on Sundays. This has removed the uncertainty which businesses in Wales, including those in Clwyd South, faced, allowing them to exercise long-term planning. It also removes a costly administrative burden on local authorities and an artificial difference in licensing controls between Wales and England, which prevented businesses and customers exercising freedom of choice.
	The Gambling Bill will, when implemented, transfer responsibility for licensing gambling premises to local authorities. Local people and businesses will be able to make representations about applications for licenses and local authorities will be able to decide not to issue licenses for casino premises. These changes will give local communities, including those in Clwyd South, a greater say in the regulation of gambling in their area.
	Information from the National Lottery distributors indicates that since 2 May 1997 Clwyd, South has benefited from over 280 awards totalling over £5.6 million. Of these, 70 awards worth over £1.5 million were made by the New Opportunities Fund which was established by the Government in 1999.

Gibraltar Police

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the Department received the views of the solicitor representing the Gibraltar Service Police Association on the intention to deduct moneys from police officers arising from the dispute about the payment of rent allowances and the application of the analogue principle; for what reasons a substantive reply has not been sent; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 19 January 2005
	Ministry of Defence officials in Gibraltar first received correspondence from Marrache and Company, the solicitors acting for the Gibraltar Services Police Association (GSPSA), in February 2004. MOD officials have been involved in a long exchange of correspondence with the solicitors in which they have consistently set out the Department's intention to recover the over-payment. Marrache and Company have had a copy of the letter from MOD officials to the GSPSA, which sets out the Department's position in detail, since February 2004.

Employment Advisers

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the role that placing employment advisers within GPs' surgeries might have on encouraging people into work.

Alan Johnson: I refer my hon. Friend to the oral answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Miss Anne Begg).

Disability Discrimination Act

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what support is provided for people with disabilities taking action under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Maria Eagle: Under provisions in the Disability Rights Commission Act 1999, the DRC provides advice and information to disabled people about how they may enforce their rights under the Disability Discrimination Act. The Commission has powers to provide assistance in relation to proceedings in certain circumstances, and it operates a conciliation service for disputes under Parts 3 and 4 of the Act.
	Disabled people taking action under the DDA may also obtain advice from sources such as disability organisations, trade unions and Citizen's Advice Bureaux.

Child Support Agency

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects Child Support Agency (CSA) cases in Sittingbourne and Sheppey on the old CSA system to be transferred to the new system.

Chris Pond: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green), on 8 December 2004, Official Report, column 568W.

Youth Unemployment

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the most recent figures issued by Eurostat are for youth unemployment in each EU member state.

Chris Pond: The annual unemployment, employment and activity rates for populations aged 15–24 most recently released by Eurostat are in the table.
	
		Percentage
		
			  Aged 15–24 unemployment rate Aged 15–24 employment rate Aged 15–24 economically active 
		
		
			 Austria 7.2 51 55.5 
			 Belgium 21.5 27.4 35.0 
			 Cyprus 10.6 37.6 41.3 
			 Czech Republic 18.6 30 36.8 
			 Denmark 10.3 59.6 65.6 
			 Estonia 22.9 29.3 36.9 
			 EU 18.3 36.7 45.0 
			 EU15 15.8 39.7 47.2 
			 Finland 21.8 39.7 50.7 
			 France 20.2 29.9 37.4 
			 Germany 11.1 44 49.1 
			 Greece 26.3 25.5 34.5 
			 Hungary 13.1 26.8 31.0 
			 Ireland 8.3 48 52.8 
			 Italy 27 25.2 34.6 
			 Latvia 17.6 31.5 38.4 
			 Lithuania 27.2 22.5 30.0 
			 Luxembourg 10.4 *29.7 *32.7 
			 Malta 19.8 *51 *59.6 
			 Netherlands 6.7 67.9 72.6 
			 Poland 41.1 21.2 36.4 
			 Portugal 14.4 38.7 45.3 
			 Slovak Republic 32.9 27.4 41.1 
			 Slovenia 15.9 29.1 35.2 
			 Spain 22.7 33.4 43.2 
			 Sweden 13.4 41.2 47.7 
			 United Kingdom 12.3 55.5 63.3 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are for 2003 except for * which are 2002.
	2. The figures are published in Employment in Europe 2004 at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment social/news/2004/sep/eie2004 en.html
	3. The UK has a youth (15–24) activity rate of 63.3 per cent., a youth employment rate of 55.5 per cent. and a youth unemployment rate of 12.3 per cent.

Child Care

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many free (a) nursery and (b) pre-school places were available for (i) three and (ii) four-years-olds in the North Somerset education authority in each of the last seven years.

Margaret Hodge: All four-year-olds in England have been entitled to a free part-time early education place since September 1998. All three-year-olds in England have been entitled to a free part-time early education place since April 2004.
	The available information on the numbers of free part-time early education places taken up by three and four-year-olds in North Somerset local education authority area is shown in the tables.
	
		Number of free nursery education places taken up 3 and 4-year-olds1,2—maintained nursery and primary schools—North Somerset local education authority area 1997–2004—position in January each year
		
			  3-year-olds 4-year-olds 
			   Maintained primary schools   Maintained primary schools 
			  Maintained nursery schools Nursery classes Other classes(11) Total Maintained nursery schools Nursery classes Other classes(11) Total 
		
		
			 1997 (12)— 160 0 160 (12)— 100 1,410 1,510 
			 1998 (12)— 160 0 160 (12)— 90 1,370 1,460 
			 1999 (12)— 160 0 160 (12)— 80 1,340 1,420 
			 2000 (12)— 200 0 200 (12)— 90 1,380 1,470 
			 2001 (12)— (13)— (13)— 200 (12)— (13)— (13)— 1,440 
			 2002 (12)— 190 0 190 (12)— 70 1,300 1,370 
			 2003 (12)— 190 0 190 (12)— 80 1,400 1,480 
			 2004 (12)— 160 0 160 (12)— 90 1,370 1,450 
		
	
	(9) Headcount of children aged three and four at 31 December in the previous calendar year.
	(10) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 places.
	(11) Includes reception classes and classes not designated as nursery classes.
	(12) Not applicable (no maintained nursery schools).
	(13) Not available.
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census
	
		Number of free nursery education places taken up 3 and 4-year-olds—maintained schools and private and voluntary providers North Somerset local education authority area 1997–2004—position in January each year
		
			  3-year-olds 4-year-olds 
			  Maintained nursery and primary schools(14) Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers Total Maintained nursery and primary schools(15) Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers Total 
		
		
			 1997 160 0 160 (16)— (16)— 1,800 
			 1998 160 0 160 (16)— (16)— 2,000 
			 1999 160 0 160 (16)— (16)— 2,000 
			 2000 200 0 200 (16)— (16)— 2,200 
			 2001 200 (17)100 300 (16)— (16)— 2,000 
			 2002 190 (17)950 1,140 1,370 (18)500 1,900 
			 2003 190 (17)1,330 1,520 1,480 (19)540 2,000 
			 2004 160 (20)1,310 1,470 1,460 (21)550 2,000 
		
	
	(14) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	2 Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(15) Not available
	(16) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise
	(17) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise.
	(18) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census supplementary data collection exercise and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(19) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(20) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release 39/2004 "Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2004 (final)", which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.

Child Care

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) financial and (b) logistical support her Department plans to offer to existing providers of child care (i) to help to ensure their sustainability and (ii) to develop closer links and to align their services with schools.

Margaret Hodge: For 2004–06 £31 million of sustainability funding is available within the General Sure Start Grant to support child care providers in disadvantaged areas. In addition to this the £170 million Delivery Support Fund element of the Grant can also be used to support all providers experiencing sustainability problems, including pre-school and playgroups.
	All existing child care providers can access the support of the dedicated Business Support Officer located within each local authority, for advice and guidance on financial issues and business planning for the future, to ensure long term sustainability.
	As announced in our 10-Year Strategy, our long-term aim is for affordable, flexible, high quality child care to be available for all families with children under 14 (under 16 for children with special needs). We are making substantial additional investment in early years and child care over the next three years. This includes a new Transformation Fund of £125 million a year from April 2006, which will support investment in high quality, affordable and sustainable child care.
	My Department is providing financial support for the development of extended schools, including the school age child care offer through local authorities. Funding will be used to provide support at school level to enable the delivery of a set of core services including school age child care. We realise that schools cannot deliver the child care offer on their own and we are encouraging them to work in partnership with voluntary and private sector providers and other schools to deliver child care. Local authorities will be able to advise schools of wider groups, agencies and services that are willing to work in partnership to develop extended services.
	My Department is also providing logistical support. The Extended Schools Prospectus, which is due to be launched shortly will set out the vision for extended schools, including child care to schools, local authorities, key stakeholders and the private and voluntary sector. It will draw on the practical experience of schools already delivering services, providing 'how to' advice and case studies on a range of issues, including working with local partners. The prospectus will be available on the teachernet website, so that it can be updated with new issues as they emerge (www. teachernet.gov.uk/extendedschools).

Child Protection

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how much was spent on child protection schemes by her Department in each of the last five years, broken down by budget head; and what the forecast budgets are for the next financial year;
	(2)  how much was spent by her Department on child protection schemes in each of the last five years, broken down by budget head; and what the forecast budgets are for the next financial year.

Margaret Hodge: Local authority gross expenditure on children's social services functions is set out in the following tables for the period 1998–99 to 2002–03, the last five years for which expenditure is available.
	
		Gross current expenditure—Children's and Families Services: 1998–99 to 2002–03
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 1998–99 2,465,267 
			 1999–2000 2,806,802 
			 2000–01 2,864,584 
			 2001–02 3,119,358 
			 2002–03 3,497,372 
		
	
	
		Amount spent on children in need—2000–01 to 2002–03 1
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 1998–99 — 
			 1999–2000 — 
			 2000–01 916,667 
			 2001–02 1,154,162 
			 2002–03 1,329,001 
		
	
	(21) Definition changed in 1999–2000 therefore spend before 2000–01 not comparable.
	
		Percentage spend on children in need—2000–01 to 2002–03 1
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 1998–99 — 
			 1999–2000 — 
			 2000–01 32 
			 2001–02 37 
			 2002–03 38 
		
	
	(22) Definition changed in 1999–2000 therefore spend before 2000–01 not comparable.
	Expenditure will include those in need of protection. Data on Local Authority Personal Social Services expenditure is available at: http://www.publications. doh.gov.uk/public/pss stat.htm
	For 2005–06 the Government are making available £4,284 million for children's social services through formula spending and grants, an increase of 7.6 per cent. on 2004–05. Councils are free to decide how much of these resources to use on child protection services.
	In addition, the DfES is responsible for section 64 grants for children's social services. The Secretary of State for Education and Skills, through the Safeguarding Children and Supporting Families Grants Scheme (section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 as amended), has power to make grants to voluntary organisations in England whose activities support the DfES's policy priorities for children's social care. Grants may be paid for up to three years.
	The grants are discretionary and terms and conditions agreed by Ministers and HM Treasury apply. Competition for the available funds is always very strong, and priority is given to applications with innovative proposals of national significance that will complement statutory services and so help secure provision of high quality children's social care.
	The DfES values its partnership with the voluntary and community sector across the whole of children's social care. Making effective use of Safeguarding Children and Supporting Families Grants and other powers at national and local level is central to this relationship.
	The total budget for the Safeguarding Children and Supporting Families Grants Scheme in 2005–06 is £4.2 million including existing grants. Of this, we expect approximately £1.67 million to be available for new grant awards in 2005–06.
	Of the 127 applications received in the 2004–05 Round, Minister awarded 47 grants totalling £2.812 million.
	Furthermore, the Local Authority Social Services Letter (2003)7 announced the introduction of the Safeguarding Children Specific Formula Grant of £90 million. It also announced a capital grant of £10 million to support the development of information technology systems for children's social services. The £10 million was the first tranche of a total grant of £30 million payable in 2004–05, 2005–06 and 2006–07.

Child Trafficking

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many trafficked children have disappeared from local authority care between 1999 and 2004.

Margaret Hodge: This information is not held centrally. Current statistics on those children who are absent from their agreed placement may be found in Table J of the DfES Statistical Volume "Children looked after by Local Authorities Year Ending 31 March 2003". This can be downloaded from the internet at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DBA/VOL/v000454/index.shtml and is also available from TSO (the Stationery Office).
	This data does not differentiate between the different groups of looked after children.

Dudley, North

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the constituency, the effects of her Department's policy since 1997 on the Dudley North constituency.

Stephen Twigg: The Dudley, North constituency lies within Dudley local education authority. The most recent Key Stage 2 and GCSE/GNVQ achievement for pupils attending schools in Dudley, North are given in the following tables:
	
		Key Stage 2 achievements of 11-year-old pupils attending schools in the Dudley North constituency
		
			 Percentage of pupils gaining level 4 and above 1997 2004 Percentage point improvement 1997–2004 
		
		
			 Dudley North—English 53.4 72.7 19.3 
			 Dudley North—Maths 49.2 65.1 15.9 
			 National Average—English 63 78 15 
			 National Average—Maths 61 74 13 
		
	
	
		GCSE/GNVQ 1 achievement of 15-year-old pupils(25) attending schools in the Dudley North constituency
		
			 Percentage of 15-year-olds gaining 1997 2004 Percentage point improvement 1997–2004 
		
		
			 Dudley North—5+ A*-C 35.7 42.7 7.0 
			 Dudley North—5+ A*-G 85.9 88.1 2.2 
			 Dudley North—1+ A*-G 91.6 93.9 2.3 
			 National average—5+ A*-C 45.1 53.7 8.6 
			 National average—5+ A*-G 87.0 88.8 1.8 
			 National average—1+ A*-G 92.3 95.9 3.6 
		
	
	(24) For 2004 only results incorporate GCSEs, GNVQs and a wide range of other qualifications approved pre-16. Prior to 2004 results are based on GCSEs and GNVQs only.
	(25) As standard the results reported relate to pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August and therefore reaching the end of compulsory education at the end of the school year.
	Further information by constituency, is provided within the Department's 'In Your Area' web site available at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/inyourarea. Where information is not available at the constituency level it has been provided at local education authority level.
	This website allows users to access key facts and local information about education and skills based on postcodes. The data available within the site offers comparisons between 1997 and the latest available year and covers five geographies. These are parliamentary constituency, ward, local authority district, local education authority, Government Office region. England figures are also provided.
	The information available within the website is grouped in a number of broad categories including literacy and numeracy at age 11, literacy and numeracy at age 14, GCSE/GNVQ results, pupils with special educational needs, school initiatives, school workforce, school funding and resources, children's social services, early years, class sizes, post 16, higher education and adult education.
	Additional information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, my Department is investigating ways in which we can disseminate more information about the effects of our policies at a local level. The In Your Area website will be further developed over the coming months to include additional information about adult education, school funding, school initiatives, school performance, school workforce and post 16.

Further Education

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the per capita funding for 16 to 19-year-olds in Milton Keynes was in (a) school sixth forms and (b) further education colleges in each of the last five years.

Stephen Twigg: The Department allocates funds for education and training in the post-16 learning and skills sector to the Learning and Skills Council. The Department does not collect information on the level of per capita funding for 16 to 19- year-olds in school sixth-forms and further education colleges at the local level. Mark Haysom, the Learning and Skills Council's chief executive will write to the hon. Member with details of the level of per capita funding for 16 to 19-year-olds in (a) school sixth- forms and (b) further education colleges in each of the last five years in the Milton Keynes area. A copy of his letter will be placed in the House Library.

Home Carers Scheme

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many nannies have (a) applied for and (b) received Government accreditation via the home carers scheme.

Margaret Hodge: The Government do not have a breakdown of the occupations of those who have (a) applied for; and (b) received accreditation via the home child carers' scheme.
	A new Childcare Approval Scheme was announced on 8 December. This will allow for the approval of child care provided in the child's home or, for children over the age of seven, on other domestic premises. Carers will be able to apply for approval since 4 January 2005. By using an approved carer parents have been able to access financial support through the child care element of the working tax credit or through employer supported child care. Parents who are eligible will be able to claim financial support from 6 April 2005. The new scheme will provide parents with more flexible, affordable, opportunities for home based care.

ICT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of how much time will be required of teachers to fill in the route map for information and communication technology use.

Derek Twigg: We have recently asked the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency to develop a route-map for schools which will help each school to identify how they can move forward in embedding information and communication technology to support teaching and learning.
	The route-map will not involve any requirement on teachers to fill in anything.

Key Stage 4

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average value added scores at Key Stage 4 are for (a) maintained school sixth forms, (b) sixth form colleges, (c) further education colleges and (d) special schools.

Stephen Twigg: Figures1,2 are unavailable for Parts (a) , (b) and (c) of the question as the GCSE and Equivalents 2 value added measures are based on pupils aged 151 at the start of the academic year. Maintained school sixth forms, sixth form colleges and further education colleges do not have 15-year-old pupils on roll, except in rare individual cases. Figures are provided for special schools 3 (d) as follows:
	The Key Stage 2—Age 15 1 , 2 value added measure is 1019.4 for special schools 3 in 2004.
	The Key Stage 3—Age 1511, 2 value added measure is 1022.5 for special schools 3 in 2004.
	1 As standard the results reported relate to pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August and therefore reaching the end of compulsory education at the end of the school year.
	2 2004 results incorporate GCSEs, GNVQs and a wide range of other qualifications approved pre-16. 3 'Special schools' include Community special schools, Foundation special schools, Special schools not maintained by LEA and Independent schools approved to take pupils with Special Education Needs.

Nursery Places

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many three and four- year-olds in Leyton and Wanstead have benefited from the scheme guaranteeing a free part-time nursery place.

Margaret Hodge: All four-year-olds in England have been entitled to a free part-time early education place since September 1998. All three-year-olds in England have been entitled to a free part-time early education place since April 2004.
	The available information on the numbers of free part-time early education places taken up by three and four-year-olds in Leyton and Wanstead parliamentary constituency and Redbridge local education authority area is shown in the tables. Information for private and voluntary providers is available for Redbridge but not for Leyton and Wanstead.
	The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release 39/2004 "Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2004 (final)", which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
	
		Number of free nursery education places taken up 3 and 4-year-olds Redbridge local education authority area
		
			 Position in January each year Maintained nursery and primary schools(29) Other maintained and independent private, voluntary and providers(30) Total 3-year-olds 
		
		
			 1997 690 n/a 690 
			 1998 820 n/a 820 
			 1999 1,300 n/a 1,300 
			 2000 1,600 n/a 1,600 
			 2001 1,600 850 2,500 
			 2002 1,700 610 2,300 
			 2003 1,600 850 2,450 
			 2004 1,600 750 2,400 
		
	
	n/a = Not available.
	(29) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(30) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	
		4-year-olds
		
			 Position in January each year Maintained nursery and primary schools(31) Other maintained and independent private, voluntary and providers(32) Total 4-year-olds 
		
		
			 1997 n/a n/a 2,900 
			 1998 n/a n/a 3,100 
			 1999 n/a n/a 3,200 
			 2000 n/a n/a 3,200 
			 2001 n/a n/a 3,400 
			 2002 2,700 510 3,200 
			 2003 2,700 520 3,300 
			 2004 2,600 450 3,100 
		
	
	n/a = Not available
	(31) Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(32) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	
		Number of free nursery education places1,2 taken up 3 and 4-year-olds in maintained nursery and primary schools Leyton and Wanstead parliamentary constituency area
		
			 Position in Maintained Maintained primary schools  
			 January each year nursery schools Nursery classes Other classes(35) Total 3-year-olds 
		
		
			 1997 50 440 0 490 
			 1998 40 440 0 480 
			 1999 60 460 0 520 
			 2000 50 540 0 590 
			 2001 40 550 0 590 
			 2002 80 530 0 610 
			 2003 70 430 30 530 
			 2004 50 540 0 590 
		
	
	
		
			 Position in Maintained Maintained primary schools  
			 January each year nursery schools Nursery classes Other classes(35) Total 4-year-olds 
		
		
			 1997 40 630 440 1110 
			 1998 50 620 430 1100 
			 1999 40 610 440 1100 
			 2000 40 600 420 1100 
			 2001 50 560 480 1100 
			 2002 30 490 440 960 
			 2003 40 490 470 1000 
			 2004 30 480 440 960 
		
	
	(33) Headcount of children aged three and four at 31 December in the previous calendar year.
	(34) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 as appropriate.
	(35) Includes reception classes and classes not designated as nursery classes.
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census

SEN and Disability Tribunal

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many claims of unlawful discrimination have been (a) received and (b) cleared in favour of the claimant by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal in England in each year since 2002; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: In the school year 2002/03 Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) received 104 claims of discrimination and registered 78 of these. The other 26 fell outside the Tribunal's powers. In 2003/04 it received 108 claims and registered 81.
	The SENDIST decided 14 cases in 2002/03 and upheld three of these. In 2003/04 it decided 69 claims and upheld 21.

Sex Education

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what rights parents have to withdraw their children from sex education in schools; and what steps her Department takes to inform parents of these rights.

Derek Twigg: Parents have the right to withdraw their child from all or part of the sex and relationship education (SRE) provided at school, except for those parts included in the statutory science curriculum.
	Guidance issued to schools in July 2000 makes clear that parents have the right to withdraw, and emphasises the importance of schools working in partnership with parents. The Department has also published a leaflet for parents setting out their rights in relation to SRE. The leaflet is available on the Department's website at www.dfes.gov.uk/sreandparents and in hard copy for schools to distribute to parents.

Specialist Schools (England)

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many specialist schools there are in England; how many are in areas within the most deprived 20 per cent. of wards according to the Government's index of deprivation; and what specialisms have been chosen by the schools situated in those areas.

Stephen Twigg: holding answer 20 January 2005
	The information requested is shown in the tables.
	
		(i) Number of specialist schools—maintained secondary(39) and special
		
			  Number of schools Number of specialist schools Percentage of specialist schools 
		
		
			 England
			 Secondary 3,385 1,936 57 
			 Special 1,063 19 1.8 
			 Total 448 1,955 1,955 
			 
			 20% Most Deprived Areas 
			 Secondary 578 293 50.7 
			 Special 238 6 2.5 
			 Total 816 299 36.6 
		
	
	(39) Includes middle schools as deemed
	
		(ii) Number of specialist schools by specialism
		
			  All Schools Schools in 20% Most Deprived Areas 
			 Specialism Number of specialist schools Specialism (Percentage) Number of specialist schools Specialism (Percentage) 
		
		
			 Arts 304 15.5 49 16.4 
			 Business and Enterprise 146 7.5 30 10.0 
			 Business and Enterprise and Arts 2 0.1 0 — 
			 Engineering 35 1.8 6 2.0 
			 Engineering and Business and Enterprise 1 0.1 0 — 
			 Humanities 18 0.9 4 1.3 
			 Humanities and Arts 1 0.1 0 — 
			 Humanities and Business and Enterprise 2 0.1 0 — 
			 Language 202 10.3 26 8.7 
			 Language and Arts 1 0.1 1 0.3 
			 Language and Business and Enterprise 1 0.1 0 — 
			 Maths and Computing 153 7.8 19 6.4 
			 Maths and Computing and Engineering 1 0.1 0 — 
			 Maths and Computing and Humanities 1 0.1 0 — 
			 Maths and Computing and Languages 1 0.1 0 — 
			 Maths and Computing with Enterprise 1 0.1 0 — 
			 Music 5 0.3 0 — 
			 Music and Maths and Computing 1 0.1 0  
			 Science 225 11.5 27 9.0 
			 Science and Arts 5 0.3 0 — 
			 Science and Engineering 5 0.3 2 0.7 
			 Science and Maths and Computing 6 0.3 0 — 
			 Sports 283 14.5 52 17.4 
			 Sports and Arts 1 0.1 0 — 
			 Sports and Business and Enterprise 1 0.1 0 — 
			 Sports and Science 2 0.1 1 0.3 
			 Technology 546 27.9 81 27.1 
			 Technology and Arts 2 0.1 1 0.3 
			 Technology and Engineering 3 0.2 0 — 
			 Total 1,955 100.0 299 100.0

Transformation Fund

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what the annual £125 million Transformation Fund announced in the pre-Budget report will be allocated from 2006.

Margaret Hodge: Government's vision for every child to have the best start in life and for parents to have more choice about how to balance work and family life. Our long term aim is for affordable, flexible, high quality child care to be available for all families with children under 14. We are making substantial additional investment in early years and child care over the next three years: the Sure Start budget will more than double from this year to 2007–08. This includes a new Transformation Fund of £125 million a year from 2006–07.
	The aim of the Transformation Fund is to ensure a more sustainable approach to investment in child care. The fund will be distributed to local authorities from April 2006. The fund will complement the child care funding already available and support investment by local authorities in high quality, affordable, flexible and sustainable child care provision.
	Options for making best possible use of this additional revenue are currently under discussion. We are reviewing the domestic and international experience of investing to support the quality and sustainability of child care, and the lessons learned will be used to inform decisions on how the Transformation Fund should be spent. An announcement will be made in due course.

World Darts Championship

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much her Department spent advertising at the World Professional Darts Championships.

Ivan Lewis: My Department did not spend any money on advertising the World Darts Championship. However, £6,167 was spent on the provision of promotional materials to encourage darts fans to phone the National Learning Advice Line and find out about courses to improve their maths and English skills. The materials were part of the Department's ongoing campaign to promote adult literacy, language and numeracy skills.

Freedom of Information

John Mann: To ask the Prime Minister what categories of information are available under Freedom of Information legislation that have not been provided in written parliamentary answers by his office in the last three years.

Tony Blair: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department of Constitutional Affairs (Christopher Leslie) today.

Asylum Seekers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures he has in place to keep track of people waiting for asylum applications to be processed.

Des Browne: As part of the initial screening process asylum seekers are required to provide proof of residence at a particular address. Residence at that address is then made a condition of their temporary admission into the United Kingdom, to which other conditions may be added, principally a requirement that the asylum seeker reports regularly to the Immigration Service (IS) at a dedicated reporting centre or local police station. Verification of the place of residence occurs during reporting. In addition, The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) make regular checks, including personal visits, to ensure that individuals still reside at the recorded address.
	IND maintains a central database containing the information supplied, which is also included in the individual Home Office (HO) file. All applicants, and their representatives, are informed of the obligation to notify the HO of any subsequent change of address throughout the asylum process. This may be done either, in writing or, in person to the nearest IS reporting centre or local enforcement office.

Burglary (London)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many burglaries there were in each London borough in (a) each year since 2001 and (b) each month to date in 2004.

Hazel Blears: The information requested has been supplied by the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis and is contained in the table.
	
		Recorded offences of burglary by London borough Number of offences
		
			 Area 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,200 2,045 2,127 
			 Barnet 4,056 4,003 4,045 
			 Bexley 2,382 2,360 2,306 
			 Brent 4,134 4,131 3,960 
			 Bromley 3,317 3,827 3,301 
			 Camden 5,782 5,975 5,108 
			 Croydon 3,871 4,463 3,535 
			 Ealing 4,628 4,419 4,427 
			 Enfield 4,136 4,538 3,898 
			 Greenwich 2,801 2,995 2,913 
			 Hackney 4,363 4,591 4,493 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 3,006 2,971 3,016 
			 Haringey 4,655 4,469 4,277 
			 Harrow 2,650 2,804 2,707 
			 Havering 2,485 2,515 2,073 
			 Heathrow Airport 71 71 59 
			 Hillingdon 3,508 3,753 3,373 
			 Hounslow 3,165 3,407 3,494 
			 Islington 4,589 4,591 3,952 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 3,117 2,558 2,475 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,237 1,078 924 
			 Lambeth 7,121 6,061 5,125 
			 Lewisham 3,315 3,778 3,828 
			 Merton 2,016 1,962 2,005 
			 Newham 3,911 3,587 3,496 
			 Redbridge 2,866 2,904 3,023 
			 Richmond upon Thames 2,268 2,135 1,800 
			 Southwark 4,784 5,101 4,724 
			 Sutton 1,714 1,560 1,450 
			 Tower Hamlets 3,378 3,443 3,301 
			 Waltham Forest 3,672 4,053 3,381 
			 Wandsworth 4,216 4,638 3,872 
			 Westminster 5,945 5,272 4,449 
		
	
	
		Number of offences
		
			  2004 
			  January February March April May 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 203 199 223 184 209 
			 Barnet 286 322 342 284 308 
			 Bexley 192 125 176 136 131 
			 Brent 321 280 346 340 352 
			 Bromley 312 330 341 308 245 
			 Camden 388 337 344 344 331 
			 Croydon 383 390 308 251 227 
			 Ealing 388 412 396 335 341 
			 Enfield 382 316 316 304 250 
			 Greenwich 298 296 263 264 272 
			 Hackney 350 360 340 300 281 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 220 193 223 211 172 
			 Haringey 346 300 291 321 276 
			 Harrow 217 204 206 169 174 
			 Havering 182 220 212 218 174 
			 Heathrow Airport 2 0 1 2 8 
			 Hillingdon 290 236 239 243 255 
			 Hounslow 277 241 272 230 168 
			 Islington 321 357 353 319 293 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 226 220 257 208 264 
			 Kingston upon Thames 76 74 78 88 66 
			 Lambeth 374 342 341 377 341 
			 Lewisham 303 249 325 286 358 
			 Merton 209 139 139 141 148 
			 Newham 252 260 249 236 275 
			 Redbridge 270 251 240 228 262 
			 Richmond upon Thames 139 182 181 145 165 
			 Southwark 457 327 264 325 351 
			 Sutton 103 84 130 129 75 
			 Tower Hamlets 222 194 207 225 249 
			 Waltham Forest 296 236 240 249 274 
			 Wandsworth 268 259 368 348 271 
			 Westminster 387 291 343 344 338 
		
	
	
		Number of offence
		
			  2004 
			  June July August September October 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 196 162 191 166 163 
			 Barnet 334 326 275 294 368 
			 Bexley 160 146 149 176 146 
			 Brent 309 344 319 327 308 
			 Bromley 222 209 252 267 322 
			 Camden 325 344 373 405 365 
			 Croydon 239 257 267 268 268 
			 Ealing 300 315 302 340 364 
			 Enfield 267 237 279 225 290 
			 Greenwich 272 236 209 226 286 
			 Hackney 367 293 289 338 301 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 212 246 308 225 269 
			 Haringey 268 322 346 320 346 
			 Harrow 178 149 167 171 192 
			 Havering 187 188 226 169 185 
			 Heathrow Airport 3 3 2 2 6 
			 Hillingdon 203 207 208 212 269 
			 Hounslow 231 257 261 242 298 
			 Islington 308 283 287 292 317 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 217 246 218 229 240 
			 Kingston upon Thames 65 85 95 76 92 
			 Lambeth 337 358 373 381 296 
			 Lewisham 251 302 321 304 331 
			 Merton 119 152 136 154 162 
			 Newham 264 228 257 271 304 
			 Redbridge 252 237 228 230 284 
			 Richmond upon Thames 159 184 183 154 160 
			 Southwark 364 339 344 409 361 
			 Sutton 90 103 119 130 131 
			 Tower Hamlets 333 251 244 239 272 
			 Waltham Forest 260 255 237 272 280 
			 Wandsworth 244 323 380 335 254 
			 Westminster 342 292 294 360 409 
		
	
	The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Crime

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many snatch thefts have been reported to (a) Essex police and (b) Southend police in each year since 1997; and how many reports led to a (i) prosecution and (ii) conviction.

Hazel Blears: The available information relates to offences of theft from the person. Tables 1 and 2 give the number of offences recorded by the police in the Essex police force area and the Southend Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area. Recorded crime data is published on a financial year basis and data at CDRP level for theft from the person is only available from 2001–02.
	Table 3 gives the number of defendants proceeded against and found guilty in the Essex police force area and South East Essex petty sessional area. Court proceedings data is published on a calendar year basis. Data for 2004 will not be available until the autumn.
	Because recorded crime deals with offences and court proceedings deals with defendants, the two data sets are not directly comparable.
	
		Table 1: Offences of theft from the person recorded by the police, 1997–98 to 2001–02
		
			   Number of offences 
		
		
			 Essex police force area 1997–98(40) 631 
			  1998–99(41) 717 
			  1999–2000 693 
			  2000–01 879 
			  2001–02 1,449 
			 Southend Crime and Disorder 1997–98 n/a 
			 Reduction Partnership area 1998–99 n/a 
			  1999–2000 n/a 
			  2000–01 n/a 
			  2001–02 275 
		
	
	n/a—not available.
	(40) The number of crimes recorded using the coverage and rules in use until 31 March 1998.
	(41) The number of crimes recorded using the expanded coverage and revised counting rules which came into effect on 1 April 1998.
	Note:
	The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years.
	
		Table 2: Offences of theft from the person recorded by the police, 2002–03 and 2003–04
		
			   Number of offences 
		
		
			 Essex police force area 2002–03 1,810 
			  2003–04 1,783 
			 Southend Crime and Disorder 2002–03 354 
			 Reduction Partnership area 2003–04 299 
		
	
	Note:
	The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.
	
		Table 3 Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts, 1997 to 2003 1
		
			  Theft from the person 
			 Area and year Proceeded against Found guilty(43) 
		
		
			 Essex police force area 
			 1997 140 158 
			 1998 192 164 
			 1999 139 127 
			 2000 70 55 
			 2001 165 112 
			 2002 177 138 
			 2003 204 173 
			 South East Essex petty sessional area(44) 
			 1997 43 44 
			 1998 66 41 
			 1999 61 51 
			 2000 20 18 
			 2001 42 29 
			 2002 45 30 
			 2003 36 28 
		
	
	(42) These data are on the principal offence basis.
	(43) For South East Essex PSA the guilty figures include those found guilty at the Crown court where South East Essex PSA was the committing court.
	(44) Covers Southend and includes some parts of Rayleigh, Benfleet and Canvey.

Crime

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many instances of gun crime have been reported to (a) Essex police and (b) Southend police in each year since 1997; and how many reports led to a (i) prosecution and (ii) conviction.

Hazel Blears: The available information is given in the table and relates to crimes recorded by the police in Essex in which firearms were reported to have been used. This information is not collected centrally for Southend.
	With regard to prosecutions and convictions, this information is not available centrally as the individual circumstances of the offence are not collected.
	
		Firearms offences recorded by the police in Essex Number of offences
		
			  Air-weapons Non air-weapons Total 
		
		
			 1997 211 58 269 
			 1998–99(45) 270 47 317 
			 1999–2000 283 61 344 
			 2000–01 279 77 356 
			 2001–02 448 98 546 
			 2002–03(46) 584 148 732 
		
	
	(45) There was a change in the counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998.
	(46) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Figures may have been inflated by this.

Firearms

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been proceeded against for the conversion of firearms in England and Wales in each year since 1993.

Caroline Flint: Statistics on the number of people proceeded against for the conversion of firearms is shown in the table.
	Statistics for 2004 will be available in autumn 2005.
	
		Number of persons proceeded against at the magistrates courts for conversion of firearm offences, England and Wales 1993–2003 1
		
			 Offence description Principal statutes 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 
		
		
			 Shortening a shotgun or other smooth bore gun Firearms Act 1968 s4(1) as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 s157 Sch 8 Part III 29 22 27 26 14 
			 Conversion of firearms Firearms Act 1968 s4(3) as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 s157 Sch 8 Part III 9 10 5 5 6 
		
	
	
		
			 Offence description Principal statutes 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Shortening a shotgun or other smooth bore gun Firearms Act 1968 s4(1) as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 s157 Sch 8 Part III 12 15 6 7 9 5 
			 Conversion of firearms Firearms Act 1968 s4(3) as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 s157 Sch 8 Part III 4 3 1 3 4 3 
		
	
	(48) These data are on the principal offence basis. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.

Identity Cards

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of public resistance on the take-up rates of identity cards.

Des Browne: In the early years of the scheme, the large majority of ID cards will be issued as people renew or apply for passports. As the case for upgrading the security of passports is well understood and supported by the general public, the Government does not anticipate any significant public resistance.
	When the Government announced its policy to proceed with a scheme in November 2003, it stated that in considering any decision to move to compulsion it would want to be confident that roll out during the first phase had delivered significant coverage of the population and that there was clear public acceptance for the principle of a compulsory ID card which would be used to access free public services.

Immigration

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of migrants from EU accession states who have failed to register with the workplace monitoring scheme since entering the UK.

Des Browne: Under the Accession (Immigration and Worker Registration) Regulations 2004, workers requiring registration who do not make an application within one month of starting work will be employed illegally.
	An employer who continues to employ a worker requiring registration, who has not applied to register within one month of starting work, may be committing a criminal offence and could be liable to a fine of £5,000.
	The Government are supporting compliance of the Scheme. Information is available on the 'Working in the UK' website www.workingintheuk.gov.uk and by telephoning the Worker Registration Scheme on 0114 259 6262. Employers can also find information and advice on the Home Office website www.ind. homeoffice.gov.uk and from the Employers' Helpline (0845 010 6677). Management information published on 10 November 2004 showed that between 1 May and 30 September just under 91,000 workers applied to register with the Worker Registration Scheme (my statement of that date refers).
	There is no current estimate of Accession Country nationals working without registering.

National Offender Management Service

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the model for contestability for the National Offender Management Service will allow (a) the Probation Service, (b) the Prison Service and (c) the voluntary sector to work in (i) competition and (ii) co-operation with each other; and how this model will influence the aim of breaking down the separation of the services.

Paul Goggins: Contestability within the National Offender Management Service includes both competition and cooperation between sectors. We are keen to encourage all sectors to compete for the delivery of the full range of services for offenders and to increase the number of private companies and voluntary and community bodies involved. The case for cooperation between sectors, for instance through a consortium rests on value for money. When the contestability model is in full operation, we expect to see probation services and prisons within a given region combining to procure services in a way that will improve value for money, drive up quality and achieve consistency of service for offenders in custody and the community.

Prisons

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of self-harm have taken place in prisons in London in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of self-harm incidents recorded per year 
			 Establishment 2001 2002 2003 1 2004 2 
		
		
			 Belmarsh 110 74 75 73 
			 Brixton 74 128 119 55 
			 Bronzefield(52) n/a n/a n/a 102 
			 Holloway 604 908 959 725 
			 Pentonville 159 153 186 74 
			 Wandsworth 94 81 54 161 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 112 112 190 98 
			 Feltham 53 48 104 81 
			 Total 1,206 1,504 1,687 1,369 
		
	
	(50) In December 2002 new procedures for reporting self-injury were introduced in prisons in England and Wales. The evidence suggests that much of the increase in reported self-harm from 2003 may result from this rather than reflect an actual increase in incidence of self-harm
	(51) 1 January—30 September only
	(52) Bronzefield opened in June 2004
	A number of intervention strategies have been introduced into establishments for people who self-harm. These include counselling, support groups, and specialised psychological interventions. A network of establishments has been set up to develop interventions, facilitate evaluation and share good practice. Guidance to staff on managing people who self-harm has been circulated to establishments.

Sentencing

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when sentencing statistics for 2003 will be published.

Paul Goggins: Current plans are to publish a Home Office Statistical Bulletin on Sentencing Statistics for 2003 next month. This will include sentencing trends from 1993.
	However, detailed statistics on sentencing for 2003 were included only in the four Supplementary Volumes of Criminal Statistics published on the Home Office website on 11 November 2004. Provisional sentencing data was also released (covering the first quarter of 2004 for the Crown Court and the last quarter of 2003 for magistrates courts) on the website on 15 November in a Quarterly Brief "Sentencing Statistics, England and Wales".

Sex Abuse (Historical Cases)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the Government will extend the statutory reporting restrictions which preserve the anonymity of victims of historical sex abuse to persons accused of those offences.

Paul Goggins: The Government have carefully considered whether defendants in sex offence cases should be entitled to anonymity through reporting restrictions but does not believe that there is a case for a change in the law. The Government considers that strengthened guidance issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Press Complaints Commission is the right approach.

Antisocial Response Courts

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what training is made available to magistrates on dealing with antisocial behaviour.

Christopher Leslie: Statutory responsibility for the training of magistrates currently rests with the 42 independent Magistrates' Courts' Committees (MCCs). The Judicial Studies Board (JSB) has provided training materials to MCCs on antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs), with are available on the JSB website.
	In February 2004, the JSB advised MCCs that it expected every magistrate to receive a minimum of two hours face to face training on ASBOs by the end of this financial year.
	The Home Office issued detailed guidance on ASBOs to Magistrates' Courts in November 2002. Preliminary Home Office guidance on the new Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 was issued to all magistrates courts in January 2004.

Asylum Process

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Home Affairs on delivering an efficient asylum process; and when each meeting to discuss such matters took place.

Christopher Leslie: The Lord Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Home Affairs both attend the regular Asylum Stocktake chaired by the Prime Minister.

Claims Direct

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2004, Official Report, column 29W, on Claims Direct, if he will publish the minutes of the meeting between representatives of Claims Direct and officials of his Department in 2002 to discuss matters relating to the operation of the personal injury market.

Christopher Leslie: It would be inappropriate for me to disclose the minutes of the meeting that took place on 13 May 2002 between officials and Claims Direct without consulting with third parties. I shall write to the hon. Member for Blaby with a decision once those parties have been consulted.

Community Legal Service

Ross Cranston: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2005, Official Report, column 770W, on the Community Legal Service, what the percentage was in each of the last 10 years.

Christopher Leslie: In the time available it was not possible to obtain an estimate for the whole of the UK legal services market for year 1994–95. However, for each of the nine remaining years, the estimated proportion of Community Legal Services 1 expenditure as a percentage of the UK legal services market was as follows:
	1 The Community Legal Service was created in April 2000. The percentage prior to this in the table covers legal aid for civil matters formally administered by the Legal Aid Board.
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 1995–96 8.3 
			 1996–97 7.6 
			 1997–98 7.0 
			 1998–99 7.0 
			 1999–2000 5.5 
			 2000–01 5.2 
			 2001–02 4.3 
			 2002–03 4.5 
			 2003–04 4.7

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs when he will reply to the letter dated 9 November 2004 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. Catherine Lim.

Christopher Leslie: The Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor wrote to the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on 7 December 2004 in response to his letter of 9 November. Unfortunately, due to an administrative error, the letter was not sent. Officials contacted the hon. Member's office on 18 January and a copy of the letter of 7 December has now been sent.

Crack Houses

Liam Byrne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many crack house closures there have been since the introduction of the orders allowing such closures, broken down by region; and if he will make a statement on (a) the ease with which such orders can be served in the courts and (b) the most common cause of delays in seeking such orders in the courts.

Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
	Closure orders by Government Office region for the period 20 January to end September 2004 are as follows.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 East of England 5 
			 South East 23 
			 South West 24 
			 East Midlands 10 
			 West Midlands 3 
			 North West 13 
			 North East 7 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4 
			 Wales 5 
			 London 64 
			 Total 158 
		
	
	There is no official data relating to the most common cause of delays in seeking such court orders in the courts. Once a notice of closure has been served upon a premises the court hearing has to be heard within 48 hours. There are no reports of this legal requirement not being met. Feedback from police and others involved in closures made so far are very positive about the process.

Criminal Offences

Mark Oaten: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list the criminal offences created in legislation sponsored by his Department in the (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04 session, broken down by Act.

Christopher Leslie: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) 2002–03 Session
	Courts Act 2003
	s 57—assaulting and obstructing court security officers.
	s 95—Inserts a new section (1A) into the Criminal Justice Act 1991 to extend the offences in that section to make it an offence for a person charged to fail to provide means information when there has been an official request to do so.
	s 96—inserting new s 24(2A) and (2B) in the Criminal Justice Act 1991—failure to provide information/providing false information relating to fines.
	Schedule 3, inserting a new s 8D in the Magistrates Courts Act 1980—reporting pre-trial hearings.
	Schedule 5 paragraph 48—fines: failure to provide information/providing false information.
	Schedule 5, paragraph 49—meddling with a vehicle clamp.
	Schedule 6, paragraph 2—failure to provide information/providing false information in relation to statement of means for work order.
	(b) 2003–04 Session
	Gender Recognition Act 2004
	s 22—prohibition on disclosure of information
	European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Act 2004
	s 6—personation: arrestable offence (extension of an existing offence).

External Suppliers

John Mann: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many tenders were let by his Department to external suppliers in financial year 2003–04; and what the value was.

Christopher Leslie: During 2003–04 my Departments central procurement and estates function let 26 new contracts, for national/regional provision, and with an individual value in excess of £100,000. The estimated total value of these contracts is around £17 million.
	The total number of contracts let by my Department, including orders placed against existing contracts, contracts placed locally, and contracts below £100,000 is not held centrally and could only be established at disproportionate cost.

Freedom of Information

John Mann: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what categories of information are available under Freedom of Information legislation that have not been provided in written parliamentary answers by his Department in the last three years.

Christopher Leslie: The Freedom of Information Act does not make specific categories of information available, but operates on the presumption that all information held by public authorities should be available, subject to the 24 exemptions of the Act.
	Whether or not information is exempt under the Act requires the exercise of judgment in each case. The majority of the exemptions also require that the public interest in releasing the information should be weighed against the public interest in withholding it. If the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in withholding it the information must be disclosed. The assessment of the public interest has to be made in all the circumstances of the case, on a case-by-case basis as far as each request is concerned.

Freedom of Information

Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will provide a list of the contact points for each Government Department for all applications for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Christopher Leslie: The following is a list of Freedom Of Information contacts for each of the Government Departments.
	Cabinet Office
	Openness Team
	Cabinet Office
	Room 4.45
	Admiralty Arch
	The Mall
	London SW1A 2WH
	Telephone: 020 7270 1234
	Email: openess.team@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk
	Department for Constitutional Affairs
	Selborne House
	54 Victoria Street
	London SW1E 6QW
	Telephone: 020 7189 2438
	Email: dca.foi@dca.gsi.gov.uk
	general.queries@dca.gsi.gov.uk
	Scotland Office
	Ministerial Offices
	Parliamentary and Constitutional Division
	Dover House
	Whitehall London
	SW1A 2AU
	Telephone: 020 7270 6754
	Facsimile: 020 7270 681
	Email: scottish.secretary@scotlan.gov.uk
	Wales Office
	The Wales Office
	Office of the Secretary of State for Wales
	Gwydyr House,
	Whitehall,
	London SW1A 2ER
	Email: wales.office@walesoffice.gsi.gov.uk
	Telephone: 020 7270 0540
	Department for Culture Media and Sport
	Head of Information Management Projects
	Information Management Unit
	Department for Culture Media and Sport
	2–4 Cockspur Street
	London SW1Y5DH
	Email: FOI@culture.gsi.gov.uk
	Telephone: 020–7211 2024
	Facsimile:020 7211 2220
	Ministry of Defence
	Freedom of information unit
	Room 831, St Giles Court,
	1/13 St Giles High Street,
	London WC2H 8LD
	Email: infoaccess-pmad@defence.mod.uk
	Department of Work and Pensions
	Department for Work and Pensions
	Room 112
	The Adelphi
	1–11 John Adam Street
	London
	WC2N 6HT
	Telephone: 020 7712 2171
	Email: peo@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
	Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
	Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
	26 Whitehall
	London
	SW1A 2WH
	Telephone: 020 7944 4400
	Email: enquiryodpm.gsi.gov.uk
	Office of the Leader of the House of Commons
	Freedom of Information Officer
	2 Cartton Gardens
	London SW1Y 5AA
	Telephone: 020 7210 1025
	Facsimile: 020 7210 1075
	Email: leader@commonsleader.X.gsi.gov.uk
	Privy Council Office
	Freedom of Information Officer
	Privy Council Office
	2 Carlton Gardens
	London SW1Y 5AA
	Telephone: 020 7210 3000
	E-mail: foi@pco.x.gsi.gov.uk
	Department for Education and Skills
	Public Enquiry Unit
	Sanctuary Buildings
	Great Smith Street
	London SW1P 3BT
	Telephone: 0870 000 2288
	Textphone: 01928 794274
	Facsimile: 01928 79 4248
	Email: info@dfes.gsi.gov.uk
	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	Information Resource Centre
	Lower Ground Floor
	Ergon House
	17 Smith Square
	London SW1P 3JR
	Telephone: 020 7238 6575
	Email: defra.library@defra.gsi.gov.uk
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	Freedom of Information/Data Protection Team
	Information Management Department
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	Old Admiralty Building, Whitehall
	London SW1A 2PA
	Telephone: 020 7008 0123
	Email: dp-foi.imd@fco.gov.uk
	Department of Health
	Customer Service Centre
	Richmond House
	79, Whitehall
	London SW1A 2NL
	Telephone: 020 7210 4850
	Minicom: 020 72105025
	Email: dhemail@dh.gsi.gov.uk
	Home Office
	50 Queen Anne's Gate
	London SW1H 9AT
	Telephone: 0870 000 1585
	Facsimile: 020 7273 2065
	Textphone: (0900–1700) 020–7273 3476
	Email: public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
	Northern Ireland Office
	Information Services
	Castle Buildings
	Belfast
	Northern Ireland
	BT4 3TT
	Telephone: 028 9052 0700
	Textphone: 028 9052 7668
	Email: http//www.nio.gov.uk/index/foi.htm
	Department of Trade and Industry
	Room LG139
	1 Victoria Street
	London SW1H OET
	Telephone: 020 7215 5000
	Facsimile: 020 7215 5713
	Email: dti.enquiries@dti.gsi.gov.uk
	Department for Transport
	Enquiry Service
	Department for Transport
	Great Minster House
	76 Marsham Street
	London SW1P 4DR
	Telephone: 020 7944 8300
	Email: enquiryodpm@odpm.gsi.gov.uk
	HM Treasury
	Freedom of information unit
	1 Horse Guards Road
	London SW1A 2HQ
	Telephone: 020 7270 6408
	Email: public.enquires@hm-treasury.gsi.gov.uk
	Department for International Development
	Public Enquiry Point
	Telephone: 0845 300 4100 (local call rate from within the UK)
	Telephone: +44 1355 84 3132 (from outside the UK)
	Facsimile: +44 (0)1355 84 3632
	Email: enquiry@dfid.gov.uk
	1 Palace Street
	London SW1E 5HE
	Telephone: 020 7023 0000
	Facsimile: 020 7023 0019

Legal Aid

John Mann: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the legal aid bill for defending drug addicts in court was in (a) 2002, (b) 2003 and (c) 2004.

Christopher Leslie: The information requested is not available. A defendant charged with murder or robbery for example may well be a drug addict but that information is not recorded centrally.

Mental Capacity Bill

Paul Burstow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the purposes will be of the Government amendments to the Mental Capacity Bill which he has indicated will be tabled in the other House.

David Lammy: At Report Stage of the Mental Capacity Bill the Government undertook to amend the Bill in two key areas. The amendments fulfilling these commitments have now been tabled for debate at Committee in the House of Lords. They provide additional reassurance sought by the House in two key areas. The first amendment relates to decisions about life-sustaining treatment in the context of best interests determinations for people who lack capacity. It provides that when someone is making a decision about whether the provision of life-sustaining treatment is in the best interests of a person lacking capacity, he cannot be motivated by any desire that the person lacking capacity should die—for whatever reason. The amendment tabled in the House of Lords on 18 January will replace the existing clause 4(5). It states:
	"Where the determination relates to life-sustaining treatment he must not, in considering whether the treatment is in the best interests of the person concerned, be motivated by a desire to bring about his death."
	This emphasises that the person assessing best interests must look only at the treatment which might be given, for example its possible benefits and burdens. He must not bring into the process any wish or desire to end the person's life. This should lay to rest any lingering doubt that the Bill will permit euthanasia.
	The second area of amendments concerns advance decisions to refuse treatment. The amendments tabled on 18 January mean that an advance decision will have no application to any treatment which a doctor considers necessary to sustain life unless strict formalities have been complied with. These are that the decision must be in writing, signed and witnessed. In addition, there must be an express statement that the decision stands "even if life is at risk". These amendments build on the already significant safeguards in the Bill surrounding advance decisions, and respond in particular to points raised by the Joint Committee on Human Rights.

Ministerial Engagements

John Gummer: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list the ministerial engagements (a) out of London and (b) in London that the Secretary of State has cancelled since 1 January 2004.

Christopher Leslie: There is no full record kept of cancelled engagements in the Lord Chancellor's diary. When engagements have had to be cancelled, wherever possible we try to re-instate them at a later date. All engagements are subject to Ministerial and Parliamentary business.

Sir Mark Thatcher

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will recommend to Her Majesty the Queen the removal of the hereditary baronetcy from Sir Mark Thatcher.

Christopher Leslie: It would require primary legislation to remove a Baronet's title and the Government have no plans to introduce such legislation.

Voting Eligibility

Oliver Heald: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the UK residency requirements are to vote in general elections; and if he will make a statement on the eligibility of (a) citizens from the European Union who are not UK or Irish citizens and (b) non-EU migrants with a right to remain to vote in general elections in the UK.

Christopher Leslie: Residence for the purpose of eligibility to be included in electoral registers entitling electors to vote at UK general elections is not defined in law but has been ruled by the courts to entail a considerable degree of permanence. Electoral Registration Officers decide in the light of the relevant circumstances whether a person may be said to be resident at a particular address. Eligibility to vote in general elections in the UK does not extend to (a) citizens of European Union States who are not UK or Irish citizens, unless they are also resident qualifying Commonwealth citizens (Cypriot or Maltese) and (b) non-EU migrants with a right to remain unless they also are resident Commonwealth citizens whose right is still extant.

Afghanistan

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further measures are planned to help combat opium production in Afghanistan.

Bill Rammell: The UK, as lead nation, remains committed to supporting the Afghan Government in the implementation of their comprehensive National Drug Control Strategy. We are working with the Afghan Government and others to increase activity in all areas of their strategy over the coming year—the principles of which were underlined by President Karzai during the first Afghan Counter Narcotics National Conference held at the beginning of December shortly after his inauguration. As well as coordinating the activity of international partners, we are providing substantial financial and practical support—spending more than £100 million over the period 2003–06.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the written statement I made on Afghanistan: Counter Narcotics on 29 November 2004, Official Report, columns 17–18WS. Since then, we have already seen a number of developments, such as the start of the Criminal Justice Task Force training programme in December, which will help to bring about the successful prosecution of drugs traffickers. So far over the last financial year, we have run seven training courses on intelligence and investigation techniques for the Afghan Counter-Narcotics Police; supported over five major seizures; provided a mobile forensic laboratory; and helped to establish regional law enforcement offices in seven provincial centres outside Kabul.
	In addition, the UK works closely with Afghanistan's neighbours, including providing assistance, to help their efforts to counter the flow of opiates from Afghanistan.

Burma

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the scale of the impact of the Asian tsunami disaster on Burma in addition to the official reports of damage and casualties made by the Burmese Government.

Douglas Alexander: Burma has been largely spared the destructive forces of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. The initial emergency needs have been met by the Burmese regime and by the aid community. The assessment of the scale of impact by the Tsunami Assistance Co-ordination Group (chaired by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and made up of representatives of the UN organisations and various other international NGOs) is in line with the Burmese Government's own findings with a death toll of approximately 60–80 people. It is estimated that 5–7000 have been directly affected through a loss of their homes, with a further 10–15,000 suffering a loss of livelihood.
	Non-governmental organisations in Thailand estimate that up to 2,500 Burmese migrant workers may have been killed in Southern Thailand.

Departmental Staff

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of his Department's staff is based in London.

Douglas Alexander: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) employs approximately 6,000 UK-based staff and approximately 9,500 locally engaged staff. All Locally engaged staff work overseas. At any one time, approximately 2,000 staff (12.9 per cent.) work in the FCO's buildings in London and about 1,200 (7.7 per cent.) at Hanslope Park, near Milton Keynes.

Free Trade Unions

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries have been assisted by his Department in the development of free trade unions.

Douglas Alexander: Free trade unions can have a vital role to play in the development of democracy, human rights and economic prosperity. The Foreign arid Commonwealth Office (FCO) has sought to promote the development of free trade unions in many parts of the world. For example, the FCO has supported the development of better labour market practices through programmes within the Global Opportunities Fund. These countries have included China, Serbia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The delivery of the programmes has often involved close working between the FCO and the UK trade unions. The FCO has also provided logistical support and briefing to UK trade unions in their own work in seeking to promote the development of free trade unions in various countries. These have included Iraq, China, Zimbabwe, the Occupied Territories and Israel. The FCO has established a strong partnership with the Trades Union Congress in Britain in support of many of these activities and initiatives. For example, the FCO set up a conference for regional trades unionists in Antigua in 2004 in close consultation with the TUC.

Illegal Logging

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking in conjunction with other Government Departments to encourage developed countries to collaborate to discourage (a) the practice of illegal logging and (b) trade in forest products.

Bill Rammell: The UK plays a key role in international efforts to combat illegal logging and to encourage sustainable forest management. This will be an objective for our presidencies of the G8 and EU in 2005.
	The UK is working with EU partners on the development of the EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan. This includes the development of EU legislation to prevent illegal timber from entering into the European market and negotiation of Voluntary Partnership Agreements with key timber producing countries. These agreements will require partner countries to establish schemes to licence legally produced timber. Timber originating in FLEGT partner countries will not be permitted to be imported into the EU without such licences. The UK also supports Forest Law Enforcement and Governance regional initiatives in Africa and Asia to help developing countries strengthen their forest governance and trade.
	As part of this overall approach, the UK Government have been seeking, since July 2000, to purchase their timber from legal and sustainable sources and have been promoting the benefits of this policy to other countries, particularly those that import significant quantities of timber.
	The UK works through key multilateral environment agreements and other international fora, including the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species, Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Forum on Forests, to encourage sustainable use of forest products and protection and conservation of endangered species.

Iraq

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which UK private security firms and personnel are employed in Iraq.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 20 January 2005
	The Government employs Control Risks Group and ArmorGroup to provide security for our staff in Iraq. ArmorGroup are also contracted by the Government to provide 40 international police advisers in southern Iraq. There are a number of other UK based security firms and personnel working in Iraq which are contracted to other employers.
	We do not have a list of these firms. However, we encourage all British nationals in Iraq to register with the British embassy in Baghdad or the offices of the British embassy in Basra and Kirkuk.

Freedom of Information

John Mann: To ask the Leader of the House what categories of information are available under Freedom of Information legislation that have not been provided in written parliamentary answers by his office in the last three years.

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for Constitutional Affairs earlier today.

Alcohol-related Deaths

Mark Fisher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for how many deaths in (a) North Staffordshire and (b) Stoke on Trent alcohol was the primary cause in each of the past five years.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Fisher, dated 24 January 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for how many deaths in (a) North Staffordshire and (b) Stoke on Trent, alcohol was the primary cause in each of the past five years. (209906)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2003. Figures in the attached table show number of deaths where the underlying cause of death indicated a condition directly related to alcohol use, in the years 1999 to 2003 among residents in the former Health Authority of North Staffordshire and the Unitary Authority of Stoke on Trent.
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) definition of alcohol-related deaths only includes those causes regarded as being most directly due to alcohol consumption. Apart from deaths due to accidental poisoning with alcohol, this definition excludes external causes of death, such as road traffic deaths and other accidents, and alcohol-related suicides and homicides. Estimates of the annual total number of deaths in which alcohol has played a role can therefore vary widely depending on the criteria used. The definition used by ONS allows for consistent comparisons over time for those deaths where a clear association with alcohol consumption can generally be assumed.
	
		Alcohol-related deaths(55) in the former health authority of North Staffordshire (which comprises the four primary care trusts of: Staffordshire Moorlands, Newcastle-under-Lyme, North Stoke and South Stoke) and Stoke on Trent unitary authority(56), 1999 to 2003 3 -- Number of deaths
		
			  Former North Staffordshire health authority  Stoke on Trent unitary authority 
		
		
			 1999 61 35 
			 2000 60 39 
			 2001 62 39 
			 2002 69 40 
			 2003 90 50 
		
	
	(55) For the years 1999–2000 the cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9). The codes used by ONS to define alcohol-related deaths are listed below:
	291(Alcoholic psychoses
	303(Alcohol dependence syndrome
	305.0(Non-dependent abuse of alcohol
	425.5(Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
	571(Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
	E860(Accidental poisoning by alcohol.
	For the years 2001–2003 the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) was used. To maintain comparability with earlier years the following codes were used:
	F10(Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol
	I42.6(Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
	K70(Alcoholic liver disease
	K73(Chronic hepatitis, not elsewhere classified
	K74(Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver
	X45(Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol.
	The selection of codes to define alcohol-related deaths is described in: Baker A and Rooney C (2003). Recent trends in alcohol-related mortality, and the impact of ICD-10 on the monitoring of these deaths in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 17, pp 5–14.
	(56) Usual residents of these areas.
	(57) Deaths occurring in each calendar year.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the cost of travel within the UK for the Department was in each year since 1997; and how much of this was spent on (a) hire cars, (b) helicopter hire, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence;
	(2)  how much the Department spent on first class travel in each year since 1997;
	(3)  how many overseas trips, and at what total cost, have been made by his Department in each year since 1997; and what the costs of (a) flights, (b) internal travel, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence were of each trip.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on travel in each of the last seven years.

Stephen Timms: The costs for the Treasury of all travel and all subsistence within the UK, all travel and all subsistence overseas over the last two years, and all first class travel for 2003–04 are given in the table. In respect of total costs for earlier years, I refer to the answer given by the then Financial Secretary to the hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis) on 22 July 2004, Official Report, column 482W. Further detail in respect of the earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the "Ministerial Code", the "Civil Service Management Code" and the "Code of Conduct for Special Advisers".
	
		
			   £000 
			  2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Total UK travel, including first class 437 551 
			
			 Total UK travel includes:   
			 Self drive car hire 3 2 
			 Helicopter hire 0 0 
			
			 Total UK subsistence, including hotel  accommodation 49 85 
			 Total overseas travel, including first class 993 1,332 
			 Total overseas subsistence, including hotel  accommodation 260 237 
			 Total first class travel (UK and overseas) 1 380 
		
	
	Note:
	The costs of first class travel are sourced from the Treasury's travel management contract, which began in July 2002. 2003–04 is therefore the first year for which a complete figure can be given without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Policies (Clwyd, South)

Martyn Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Clwyd, South constituency, the effects on Clwyd, South of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Stephen Timms: The Government have put in place a radical programme of both macroeconomic and microeconomic reform since our election in 1997 to improve the economic performance of all parts of the UK. There is significant evidence that these policies have already yielded considerable benefits for the Clwyd South constituency. For example, since May 1997, claimant unemployment has fallen by 52 per cent., and both long-term unemployment and long-term youth unemployment have nearly been eliminated, with falls of 85 per cent. and 92 per cent. respectively.
	The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at Parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 Census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at http://neighbourhood.statistics. gov.uk./.

Earnings (Scotland)

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the gross (a) average and (b) median weekly earnings (i) including and (ii) excluding overtime are for (A) male, (B) female and (C) all full-time workers in (1) Scotland and (2) each of the unitary local authority areas in Scotland;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of (a) male, (b) female and (c) all full-time workers in (i) Scotland, (ii) each of the unitary local authority areas in Scotland and (iii) the United Kingdom earn less than (A) £279.00 per week, (B) £209.62 per week and (C) £168.75 per week in gross pay, (1) including and (2) excluding overtime;
	(3)  what the (a) average and (b) median (i) hourly and (ii) weekly gross earnings (A) including and (B) excluding overtime are for (X) male, (Y) female and (Z) all full-time workers aged (1) 18 to 21, (2) 22 to 29, (3) 30 to 39, (4) 40 to 49 and (5) over 50 years in (aa) Scotland and (bb) each of the unitary local authority areas in Scotland;
	(4)  what the (a) average and (b) median (i) hourly and (ii) weekly gross earnings (A) including and (B) excluding overtime are for (X) male, (Y) female and (Z) all full-time workers in the (1) private, (2) public and (3) unclassified sectors in (aa) Scotland and (bb) each of the unitary local authority areas in Scotland.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	His answer has been placed in the Library.

Economic and Financial Affairs Council

Michael Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's priorities for the Economic and Financial Affairs Council will be during the United Kingdom's Presidency of the European Union; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: As set out in Box 2.4 of the 2004 pre-Budget report, the Government will use its leadership of the G7/8 and the EU to tackle the key challenges of international poverty reduction, structural economic reform, trade reform and climate change.
	The Luxembourg-UK Annual Operating Programme sets out further details of priorities for 2005. These include delivering on the Lisbon agenda of more and better jobs, sustainable economic growth and increased competitiveness and regulatory reform. Copies of this are available in the Library of the House.

Shellfish Farming

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Crown Estate has received from rents paid by shellfish farmers in (a) Orkney, (b) Shetland, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: The following table shows the rents received in Orkney, Shetland, Scotland and the UK, over the last 10 years.
	
		
			£ 
			  Orkney Shetland Mainland and Western Isles Scotland totals England and Wales Northern Ireland UK totals 
		
		
			 2003–04 700 20,300 58,300 79,300 6,100 19,100 104,500 
			 2002–03 1,100 15,300 69,200 85,600 6,800 7,600 100,000 
			 2001–02 1,100 10,500 68,300 79,900 4,700 14,100 98,700 
			 2000–01 1,300 7,700 65,100 74,100 1,000 7,900 83,000 
			 1999–2000 1,000 4,900 58,800 64,700 1,700 8,200 74,600 
			 1998–99 900 3,800 59,800 64,500 700 3,900 69,100 
			 1997–98 1,000 1,700 61,200 63,900 600 4,000 68,500 
			 1996–97 900 300 58,100 59,300 1,000 3,700 64,000 
			 1995–96 900 500 57,900 59,300 600 5,400 65,300 
			 1994–95 900 400 59,900 61,200 700 5,400 67,300

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the appeal made by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead's constituent, Mr. Edwards, on 9 November 2004, against the decision of the Inland Revenue to recover a tax credit overpayment will be heard.

Dawn Primarolo: Claimants can appeal against decisions about their entitlement but there is no right of appeal against the recovery of an overpayment. The Inland Revenue's Code of Practice 26, "What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?", which is available on the Department's website at www. inlandrevenue.gov.uk, explains what claimants can do if they believe they should not be asked to pay back on overpayment.
	The Inland Revenue replied to the hon. Member and his constituent on 24 November 2004. The Department wrote again to the constituent on 14 December 2004. I have asked the Department to write to the hon. Member again in case he requires anything further.

Tax Credits

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to how many tax credit recipients in (a) Scotland and (b) Moray local authority area tax credit overpayment notices have been issued since April 2004; what percentage of total claimants of tax credits this represents in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The amount of any overpayment of tax credits is detailed on the decision notices that the Inland Revenue sends to claimants. Information on the number of decision notices where an overpayment is shown is not available.
	For information on the number of tax credit overpayments I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Miss Begg) on 10 January 2005, Official Report, column 129W.

Tax Credits

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average amounts of tax credit overpayments to claimants since April 2004 in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) the Moray local authority area are; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Bolton, South East (Dr. Iddon) on 21 December 2004, Official Report, column 1596W.

Unemployment (Liverpool)

Louise Ellman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the levels of long-term (a) adult and (b) youth unemployment were in Liverpool, Riverside in each of the last eight years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mrs. Louise Ellman, dated 24 January 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about unemployment in the Liverpool, Riverside Parliamentary Constituency. (210256)
	Table 1 gives estimates of the numbers of long-term unemployed people, both youth and adult, who were resident in the Liverpool Riverside Parliamentary Constituency, for each twelve month period ending February from 1999 to 2004, the most recent available period. Information on length of time unemployed is not available for earlier periods.
	These estimates from Labour Force Survey (LFS) are, as with any statistical sample survey, subject to sampling variability.
	The Office for National Statistics also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas. Table 2 gives the annual average number of young people aged 18 to 24 years old and adults (aged 25 and over) resident in the Liverpool Riverside Parliamentary Constituency claiming JSA benefits for over 12 months or more in each year from 1997 to 2004.
	
		Table 1: Long-term(58) unemployment in Liverpool, Riverside parliamentary constituency
		
			 12 months ending February Youth unemployed (aged 16–24) Adult unemployed (aged 25 and over) 
		
		
			 1999 (59)— 2,000 
			 2000 (59)— 1,000 
			 2001 (59)— 2,000 
			 2002 (59)— 2,000 
			 2003 (59)— 2,000 
			 2004 1,000 2,000 
		
	
	(58) People unemployed for 12 months or more.
	(59) Estimates not shown as they are potentially disclosive.
	Note:
	These estimates are based on very small sample sizes and are subject to a higher degree of sampling variability. They should therefore be treated with caution.
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey
	
		Table 2: JSA claimants resident in the Liverpool, Riverside constituency claiming for 12 months or more
		
			  Annual averages Youth claimants (aged 18–24) 1 Adult claimants (aged 25 and over) 1 
		
		
			 1997 600 2,585 
			 1998 425 1,985 
			 1999 120 1,755 
			 2000 50 1,550 
			 2001 30 1,275 
			 2002 35 1,085 
			 2003 35 1,070 
			 2004 50 970 
		
	
	(60) Computerised claims only.
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus Administrative system

World Bank/IMF

Alan Duncan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has held discussions with (a) the World Bank (b) the IMF and (c) other interested parties to encourage (i) the World Bank and (ii) the IMF (A) to publish the minutes of its meetings, (B) to publish the record of its voting and decisions on lending and policy and (C) to adopt a practice of transparency and openness in its decision-making.

Stephen Timms: The UK is a leading supporter of greater transparency at the IMF and World Bank, and has held extensive discussions with the IMF and World Bank to encourage publication of minutes, lending and policy decisions, and more transparent decision-making. These discussions have taken place at ministerial level through the Chancellor and Secretary of State for International Development, and at official level through the UK's Executive Director at the IMF and the World Bank.
	There has been significant progress in recent years, with the agreement in 2003 of new IMF guidelines which presume publication of all surveillance, programme and policy documents. Programmes which involve exceptional access to fund resources will not normally be approved unless authorities agree to publish programme documents. In addition, the IMF board's agenda is made public in advance, and decisions are published through Public Information Notices. Discussions are ongoing at the World Bank on the extension of their transparency policy. The Treasury's Annual Report to Parliament on the UK and the IMF, and DFID's Report on the UK and the World Bank, will set out in greater detail the UK's position on transparency in these two institutions.

Dermatology

Bruce George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of e-booking on the (a) workload of and (b) quality of patient care by dermatology consultants.

John Hutton: Electronic booking through the choose and book service is expected to have a positive impact on secondary care working practices and has significant potential to reduce consultant workload.
	An independent report produced by Yorkshire Institute for Clinical and Health Informatics (December 2003) found that electronic booking reduced did not attend rates and offers substantial benefits to patients who were able to choose convenient appointments that fitted in with their other commitments at work and home.

Doctors

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the ratio of doctors per head of population is in England.

John Hutton: The standard ratio used by the Department is per 100,000 population. The population data used is from the Office for National Statistics population census.
	
		Hospital, public health medicine and community health services (HCHS) staff and general medical practitioners, all doctors per 100,000 population Number (headcount)
		
			 England, as at 30 September 2003 Doctors Population Doctors per 100,000 population 
		
		
			 All Doctors 109,964 49,855,740 220.6 
			 Of which:
			 HCHS Doctors(61) 76,400 49,855,740 153.2 
			 General Medical Practitioners(62) 33,564 49,855,740 67.3 
		
	
	(61) Excludes hospital medical hospital practitioners and hospital medical clinical assistants, most of whom are GPs working part time in hospitals.
	(62) All practitioners include general medical service (GMS) unrestricted principals, personal medical service (PMS) contracted GPs, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, GP registrars, salaried doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS other, GP retainers, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners.
	Sources:
	Department of Health GMS and PMS statistics.
	Department of Health medical and dental workforce census.
	2001 ONS population census.

Free Eye Tests

Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many old age pensioners in the Harwich constituency have benefited from the introduction of free eye tests.

Stephen Ladyman: Figures for the number of sight tests by constituency are not collected centrally, Information by primary care trust is collected and is available for 2003–04.
	The total number of sight tests undertaken on those people of 60 years and above in the Tendring PCT, which includes pensioners in the Harwich constituency, during 2003–04 is 15,967.
	The data for 2004–05 is not yet published.

Medicines (Licensing)/Regulation

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the outcome has been of the exploration by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, following its discussions with HM Customs, for the use of effective counter-warnings on foreign websites selling prescription and pharmacy-only medicines direct to the public; what improvements HM Customs have made in recognising and dealing with such packages of medicines; how these improvements are reflected in the number of (a) items being impounded or (b) prosecutions for breaches of the Medicines Act 1971; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) controls the advertising, sale and supply of medicines on the United Kingdom market by regulation and enforcement of these regulations. Websites based overseas do not fall within UK jurisdiction and are therefore outside the MHRA's control. Although the MHRA cannot compel a foreign website to comply with UK domestic legislation, if there is a breach, details of the site will be passed on by the MHRA to overseas enforcement authorities.
	The MHRA is currently investigating 43 cases involving sale of medicines via the internet. In addition, 30 sites have been identified as being hosted overseas and are being forwarded to the appropriate national regulatory authorities.
	There is no restriction on the importation of medicines for personal consumption, unless they contain substances subject to control under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Where Her Majesty's Customs and Excise detect importations of medicines and the quantities involved seem inconsistent with amounts for personal use, Customs officials alert the MHRA on the grounds of public interest. Representatives from Customs and MHRA are engaged in on-going discussions about how this process might be strengthened.

Midwives

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwife vacancies there are in (a) Kingston hospital and (b) South West London, (c) Merton, Surrey and Mid-Surrey, (d) London and (e) England.

John Hutton: holding answer 20 January 2005
	The national health service vacancy survey collects information on the number of vacancies lasting three months or more. Information on the number and rate of three month vacancies for midwives in England, London and the South East is shown in the following table.
	
		Department of Health vacancies survey, March 2004. Qualified midwifery staff three month vacancy rates, numbers and staff in post in London and South East Government Office Regions by strategic health authority and organisation.
		
			March 2004 1 September 2003 1 
			Three month vacancy rate (percentage) Three month vacancy (number) Midwives—staff in post (whole-time equivalent)  Staff in post (headcount) 
		
		
			  England  3.3 619 18,444 23,941 
			 H London Government Office Region  8.2 250 3,026 3,981 
			
			 Q05 North Central London SHA  9.1 49 499 638 
			  Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust RVL 11.3 20 172 247 
			  Barnet PCT 5A9 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust RRP n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Camden and Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust TAF n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Camden PCT 5K7 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Enfield PCT 5C1 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children NHS Trust RP4 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Haringey PCT 5C9 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Islington PCT 5K8 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Trust RP6 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  North Central London SHA Q05 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust RAP 7.8 6 93 117 
			  Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust RAL 12.2 12 85 105 
			  Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust RAN n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust RNK n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  University College London Hospitals NHS Trust RRV 5.5 5 75 85 
			  Whittington Hospital NHS Trust RKE 6.4 7 74 84 
			
			 Q06 North East London SHA  6.4 42 694 871 
			  Barking and Dagenham PCT 5C2 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust RF4 10.4 23 219 283 
			  Bails and The London NHS Trust RNJ 0.0 n/a 125 150 
			  City and Hackney PCT 5C3 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  East London and The City Mental Health NHS Trust RWK n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Havering PCT 5A4 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Homerton University Hospital NHS Trust RQX 6.0 7 133 159 
			  Newham Healthcare NHS Trust RNH 12.0 12 91 119 
			  Newham PCT 5C5 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  North East London Mental Health NHS Trust RAT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  North East London SHA Q06 (63)— n/a 2 2 
			  Redbridge PCT 5NA n/a n/a 1 1 
			  Tower Hamlets PCT 5C4 n/a n/a 0 1 
			  Waltham Forest PCT 5NC n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust RGC 0.0 n/a 122 156 
			
			 Q04 North West London SHA  7.4 47 634 842 
			  Brent PCT 5K5 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Central and North West London Mental Health NHS Trust RV3 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust RQM 19.5 23 109 151 
			  Ealing Hospital NHS Trust RC3 0.0 n/a 58 69 
			  Ealing PCT 5HX n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 5H1 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust RQN 3.4 4 122 141 
			  Harrow PCT 5K6 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust RAS 0.0 n/a 92 175 
			  Hillingdon PCT SAT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Hounslow PCT SHY n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Kensington and Chelsea PCT 5LA (63)— n/a 1 1 
			  North West London Hospitals NHS Trust RV8 0.0 n/a 109 137 
			  North West London SHA Q04 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust RT3 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  St. Mary's NHS Trust RJ5 0.0 n/a 78 87 
			  West London Mental Health NHS Trust RKL n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  West Middlesex University NHS Trust RFW 21.9 20 66 81 
			  Westminster PCT 5LC n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			
			 Q07 South East London SHA  8.7 64 730 988 
			  Bexley Care Trust TAK n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust RG3 7.6 6 74 90 
			  Bromley PCT 5A7 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Greenwich PCT 5A8 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Trust RJ1 9.2 20 204 234 
			  King's College Hospital NHS Trust RJZ 1.0 2 151 198 
			  Lambeth PCT 5LD n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust RJ2 14.2 13 92 127 
			  Lewisham PCT 5LF n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Oxleas NHS Trust RPG n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust RG2 9.3 9 106 178 
			  Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust RGZ 13.2 14 104 161 
			  South East London SHA Q07 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  South London and Maudsley NHS Trust RV5 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Southwark PCT 5LE n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			
			 Q08 South West London SHA  10.2 48 468 642 
			  Croydon PCT 5K9 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust RVR 2.0 3 163 231 
			  Kingston Hospital NHS Trust RAX 7.3 7 105 162 
			  Kingston PCT 5A5 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust RJ6 30.3 38 86 99 
			  Richmond and Twickenham PCT 5M6 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust RPY n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  South West London and St. George's Mental Health NHS Trust RQY n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  South West London SHA Q08 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust RJ7 0.0 n/a 114 150 
			  Sutton and Merton PCT 5M7 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Wandsworth PCT 5LG n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  London Ambulance Service NHS Trust RRU n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			
			 J South East Government Office Region  4.1 109 2,482 3,373 
			
			 Q17 Hampshire and Isle Of Wight SHA  1.1 6 542 727 
			  Blackwater Valley and Hart PCT 5G6 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  East Hampshire PCT 5FD n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Eastleigh and Test Valley South PCT SLY n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Fareham and Gosport PCT 5LX n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Hampshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust RKD n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Hampshire and Isle Of Wight SHA 017 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Isle Of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust RR2 0.0 n/a 46 68 
			  Isle Of Wight PCT 5DG n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Mid-Hampshire PCT 5E9 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  New Forest PCT 5A1 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  North Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust RN5 0.0 n/a 63 84 
			  North Hampshire PCT 5DF n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Portsmouth City PCT 5FE n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust RHU 0.0 n/a 188 246 
			  Southampton City PCT 5L1 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust RHM 2.6 4 172 222 
			  West Hampshire NHS Trust RW1 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust RN1 2.5 2 73 107 
			
			 Q18 Kent and Medway SHA  8.0 43 516 700 
			  Ashford PCT 5LL n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Canterbury and Coastal PCT 5LM n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust RN7 0.0 n/a 66 99 
			  Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley PCT 5CM n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  East Kent Coastal PCT 5LN n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  East Kent Community NHS Trust RTM n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust RVV 6.8 13 180 243 
			  Kent Ambulance NHS Trust RPH n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Kent and Medway SHA Q18 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust RWF 14.5 23 146 210 
			  Maidstone Weald PCT 5L2 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Medway NHS Trust RPA 5.4 7 122 147 
			  Medway PCT 5L3 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Trust RPC n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Shepway PCT 5LP n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  South West Kent PCT 5FF n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Swale PCT 5L4 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  West Kent NHS and Social Care Trust RXJ n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			
			 Q19 Surrey and Sussex SHA  5.4 45 739 1,013 
			  Adur, Arun and Worthing PCT 5L8 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust RTK 9.2 7 65 92 
			  Bexhill and Rother PCT 5FH n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Brighton and Hove City PCT 5LQ n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust RXH 5.6 9 152 197 
			  Crawley PCT 5MA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey PCT 5KP n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  East Surrey PCT 5KQ n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  East Sussex County NHS Trust RXD n/a n/a 0 1 
			  East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust RXC 0.0 n/a 147 205 
			  Eastbourne Downs PCT 5LR n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Frimley Park Hospital NHS Trust RDU 2.1 2 109 153 
			  Guildford and Waverley PCT 5L5 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Hastings and St. Leonards PCT 5FJ n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Horsham and Chanctonbury PCT 5MC n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Mid-Sussex PCT 5FK n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  North Surrey PCT 5L6 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  North West Surrey Mental Health NHS Partnership Trust RW7 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust RA2 26.5 26 23 27 
			  Royal West Sussex NHS Trust RPR 0.0 n/a 62 94 
			  South Downs Health NHS Trust RDR n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Surrey Ambulance Service NHS Trust RPQ n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust RTP 0.7 1 107 135 
			  Surrey and Sussex SHA Q19 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Surrey Hampshire Borders NHS Trust RTJ n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Surrey Oaklands NHS Trust RTN n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Sussex Ambulance Service NHS Trust RQ2 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 5LT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  West Sussex Health and Social Care NHS Trust RW8 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Western Sussex PCT 5L9 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Woking PCT 5L7 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust RPL 0.0 n/a 73 109 
			
			 Q16 Thames Valley SHA  2.1 15 686 933 
			  Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust RWX n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Bracknell Forest PCT 5G2 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Trust RWT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust RXQ 1.2 2 124 190 
			  Cherwell Vale PCT 5DV n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Chiltern and South Bucks PCT 5G4 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Trust RD7 11.1 13 96 118 
			  Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Trust RD8 0.0 92 121 n/a 
			  Milton Keynes PCT 5CQ n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Newbury and Community PCT 5DK n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  North East Oxfordshire PCT 5DT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Nuffield Orthopaedic NHS Trust RBF n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Oxford City PCT 5DW n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Oxford Radcliffe Hospital NHS Trust RTH 0.0 247 322 n/a 
			  Oxfordshire Ambulance NHS Trust RNY n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Oxfordshire Learning Disability NHS Trust RHX n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Oxfordshire Mental Healthcare NHS Trust RNU n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Reading PCT 5DL n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust RH1 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospitals NHS Trust RHW 0.0 128 182 n/a 
			  Slough PCT 5DM n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  South East Oxfordshire PCT 5DX n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  South West Oxfordshire PCT 5DY n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Thames Valley SHA Q16 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Two Shires Ambulance NHS Trust RHY n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Vale of Aylesbury PCT 5DP n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead PCT 5G3 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Wokingham PCT 5DN n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Wycombe PCT 5G5 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	n/a = not applicable.
	(63) September 2003—latest data available for midwife numbers, March 2004—latest vacancy data available
	Source:
	Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census

NHS Budgets

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the annual percentage increase in total budgets for (a) Kingston Hospital and (b) the NHS in (i) South West London, (ii) London and (iii) England has been in each year since 1992;
	(2)  what the total budgets for (a) Kingston Hospital and (b) the NHS in (i) South West London, (ii) London and (iii) England have been in each year since 1992.

John Hutton: holding answer 20 January 2005
	Information relating to the income of the Kingston Hospital NHS Trust and to total national health service expenditure is shown in the table in cash terms. Figures for London prior to 1996–97 have not been provided as they are not comparable.
	
		
			  Kingston Hospital NHS Trust South West London London Total NHS (England) 
			  Total income (£000) Percentage increase Expenditure (£000) Percentage increase Expenditure (£000) Percentage increase Expenditure (£ billion) Percentage increase 
		
		
			 1991–92 41,902 — — — — — 25.353 13.6 
			 1992–93 45,060 7.5 — — — — 27.968 10.3 
			 1993–94 42,632 -5.4 — — — — 28.942 3.5 
			 1994–95 45,612 7.0 — — — — 30.590 5.7 
			 1995–96 50,659 11.1 — — — — 31.985 4.6 
			 1996–97 54,161 6.9 854,685 — 5,162,461 — 32.997 3.2 
			 1997–98 69,683 28.7 843,672 -1.3 5,008,797 -3.0 34.664 5.1 
			 1998–99 87,878 26.1 910,244 7.9 5,509,058 10.0 36.608 5.6 
			 1999–2000 107,330 22.1 1,076,124 18.2 6,458,945 17.2 40.201 — 
			 2000–01 107,302 0.0 1,156,688 7.5 7,071,988 9.5 43.932 9.3 
			 2001–02 109,951 2.5 1,257,510 8.7 7,799,044 10.3 49.021 11.6 
			 2002–03 131,899 20.0 1,390,747 10.6 8,856,345 13.6 54.042 10.2 
			 2003–04 138,895 5.3 1,495,294 7.5 9,480,299 7.0 63.667 — 
		
	
	Sources:
	Audited summarisation schedules of Kingston Hospital NHS Trust
	Audited accounts of health authorities 1996–97 to 1997–98
	Audited summarisation forms of health authorities 1998–99 to 2001–02
	Audited summarisation forms of strategic health authorities 2002–03 and 2003–04
	Audited summarisation schedules of primary care trusts 2000–01 to 2003–04
	Total net NHS expenditure.
	Comparisons year on year will be affected by the local reconfiguration of NHS bodies and services. These may be explained in accounts published by the individual NHS bodies but not collected centrally.
	Figures for Kingston Hospital NHS Trust show the total income of the trust, including all income from activities and all other operating income, as budget information is not collected centrally.
	Figures for London and South West London are the expenditure by strategic health authorities, predecessor health authorities and primary care trusts within the current five London strategic health authority areas and the South West London strategic health authority area, respectively.
	NHS Expenditure by area is taken from audited health authority accounts and primary care trust summarisation schedules, which are prepared on a resource basis and therefore differ from cash allocations in the year. The expenditure is the total expenditure by the relevant health authorities, and the commissioner costs of the primary care trusts.

NHS Trusts

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people resident in the 20 per cent. most deprived wards are serving as non-executive directors on each NHS trust in the north-west;
	(2)  what progress has been made in appointing more people from Warrington, North to NHS trusts.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 20 January 2005
	This information is not held centrally. The appointment of chairs and non-executive directors to national health service trusts has been delegated to the NHS Appointments Commission. Sir William Wells, chair of the NHS Appointments Commission has been asked to write to the hon. Member.

Consultation

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidelines he issues on periods appropriate for consultation on major documents; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister follows the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Consultation which can be found at: http://www. cabinetoffice.gov.uk/regulation/docs/consultation/pdf/code.pdf

Council Tax (Bexley)

Derek Conway: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the discussions between his Department and Bexley borough council on the level of council tax increases.

Nick Raynsford: I wrote to all local authority Leaders on 9 December making it clear that the Government expects all local authorities to budget prudently in 2005–06 and that the average council tax increase in England should be less than 5 per cent. I also said that the Government are prepared to take tougher capping action than we did in 2004–05 to deal with excessive budgets.
	The Leader of Bexley borough council will have received this letter along with all other authorities.

Departmental Staff

John Mann: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of his Department's staff is based in London.

Yvette Cooper: Information on regional distribution of staff is available in the Libraries of both Houses, and also at, http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management information/statistical information/statistics/contents for civil service statistics 2003 report/index.asp
	Table D shows the numbers of staff by regional distribution.
	Figures relating to 1 April 2004 are due to be published during February 2005.

Flood Plains (Development)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what studies (a) the Government Office for the South West and (b) his Department has commissioned into the effect upon the floodplain in Gloucestershire near Cheltenham and Gloucester of development near the floodplain.

Keith Hill: The Environment Agency has the lead role in providing advice on flood issues, at a strategic level and in relation to planning applications. In October 2004 the Environment Agency published the new Flood Map and Flood Zones data, which covers the whole of England and provides information on the extent of flood risk areas and the location and implications of flood defence provisions.
	The Government's policy on development in floodplains, contained in Planning Policy Guidance Note 25, is to reduce the risks to people and the developed and natural environment from flooding and it looks to local planning authorities to ensure that flood risk is properly taken into account in the planning of developments to reduce the risk of flooding.

Local Government Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the (a) specific, (b) special and (c) non-ring-fenced grants that the Government has allocated to local authorities in 2004–05.

Nick Raynsford: The following table lists all grants allocated to local authorities in England in 2004–05 within Aggregate External Finance (AEF) in addition to Revenue Support Grant, National Non-Domestic Rates and Police Grant. There are other grants outside AEF but these are not provided for an authority's core services and relate, in the main, to areas of funding which are passed on by local authorities, such as Mandatory Student Awards.
	
		
			  Amount (£ million) Ring-fenced 
		
		
			 Grants made under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003: 
			 Excellence in Cities 260.6 No 
			 Choice Protects 33.0 Yes 
			 Adoption Support and Special Guardianship 23.0 Yes 
			 Safeguarding Children 100.0 No 
			 Teenage Pregnancy Local Implementation 32.4 Yes 
			 Change Fund 7.0 No 
			 Waste Re-Cycling Challenge 90.0 Yes 
			 Waste Targeted Grant 20.0 No 
			 Fire Transitional Funding 28.3 Yes 
			 Fire Pay Verification 0.8 Yes 
			 Planning Delivery 130.0 No 
			 Supporting People Administration 48.1 No 
			 Rural Bus Subsidy 51.0 No 
			 Rural Bus Challenge 20.0 Yes 
			 Urban Bus Challenge 16.0 Yes 
			 Homelessness Strategies 45.4 No 
			 Private Finance Initiative 415.0 No 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 450.0 No 
			 LPSA Reward Grant(64) 101.0 No 
			
			 Grants made under other specific powers:   
			 Standards Fund 1306.8 Yes 
			 Sure Start General Grant 461.0 Yes 
			 Teachers' Pay Reform 825.6 Yes 
			 Leadership Incentive 193.6 Yes 
			 Education Action Zones 37.4 Yes 
			 Transitional Support 118.0 Yes 
			 School Standards 859.1 N/A 
			 UASC Leaving Care 12.0 Yes 
			 Carers Grant 125.0 No 
			 Training Support 53.3 No 
			 National Training Strategy 31.0 No 
			 Preserved Rights 458.3 No 
			 Treatment Foster Care 3.0 Yes 
			 Children's Trusts 3.2 Yes 
			 Regional Development Workers 1.0 Yes 
			 Human Resources Development Strategy 23.9 No 
			 Access and Systems Capacity 486.0 No 
			 Children and Adolescent Mental Health 66.0 Yes 
			 Young People's Substance Misuse Planning 4.5 Yes 
			 Mental Health 133.0 Yes 
			 AIDS Support 16.5 Yes 
			 Delayed Discharge 100.0 No 
			 Crime Fighting Fund 267.0 Yes 
			 Rural Policing Fund 26.0 No 
			 Neighbourhood Policing Fund 12.0 Yes 
			 Occupational Health 4.7 No 
			 Police Negotiating Board 48.0 Yes 
			 DNA 50.0 Yes 
			 Basic Command Units 48.0 Yes 
			 London and South East Allowances 49.0 No 
			 London Travel 3.0 No 
			 Community Support Officers 39.0 Yes 
			 Special Constables 6.6 Yes 
			 Street Crime Initiative 25.0 Yes 
			 Reform Deal 4.7 Yes 
			 National Intelligence Model 3.7 Yes 
			 Counter Terrorism 83.0 Yes 
			 Airwave Communication Project 6.6 Yes 
			 Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit  administration 331.7 No 
			 Performance Standards Fund 70.0 No 
			 Civil Defence 19.0 Yes 
			 Probation Loan Charges 3.0 Yes 
			 Neighbourhood Wardens 19.0 Yes 
			 Supporting People 1807.0 Yes 
			 Magistrates' Courts 371.9 No 
			 Detrunking 33.3 No 
			 Beacons 5.0 No 
			 Community Cohesion Pathfinder 0.4 Yes 
			 GLA General Grant 36.3 No 
		
	
	(64) LPSA Reward Grant—this is the maximum provision as specified in individual councils LPSAs, and "allocations" will depend on performance. This is the revenue element of the grant, the other £101 million being capital.

Regional Housing Boards

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the role of the regional housing boards is in relation to (a) social housing and (b) Travellers.

Keith Hill: The Boards were established as part of a dynamic and more strategic approach towards addressing housing and other associated problems. They recommend to Ministers how resources for housing capital investment is best targeted to address regional and national priorities, and to address the needs of all groups.
	These recommendations are made on the back of Regional Housing Strategies, which the Boards produce, and which cover all tenures, including social housing, and groups with different housing needs, including travellers. The resources are used to increase the supply of social housing, to ensure that existing social housing meets the decent homes standard, and to provide sites for travellers.

Right to Buy

Peter Pike: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent changes have been implemented to the (a) right-to-buy and (b) right to acquire regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: The Housing Act 2004, which received Royal Assent on 18 November 2004, makes a number of changes to the Right to Buy scheme set out in Part V of the Housing Act 1985. It:
	extends the initial qualification period from two years to five years for new tenants, although they will then qualify for the same amount of discount as under the current rules—i.e. after the five years, 35 per cent. for a house or 50 per cent. for a flat
	extends the period after sale during which landlords may require owners to repay some or all of their discount on early resale, from three years to five years
	makes it clear that landlords have discretion to waive repayment of discount, to address cases where repayment could involve genuine hardship (the Government will issue guidance on this)
	requires the amount of discount repaid to be a percentage of the resale value of the property (less the value of any improvements made by the owner since exercising their Right to Buy) rather than the current flat rate basis
	shortens from 12 months to three months the period after which a landlord may serve on a tenant a 'first notice to complete'
	allows landlords to suspend the Right to Buy for up to five years on dwellings scheduled for demolition, or to exempt such dwellings from the Right to Buy altogether if they are due to be demolished within two years
	requires tenants who agree to resell their homes to companies within the discount repayment period (a 'deferred resale agreement') to repay some or all of their Right to Buy discount
	requires owners who wish to resell properties within 10 years of their being sold under the Right to Buy to offer them back to a local social landlord (the local authority or a registered social landlord) at market value. Landlords have always been able to do this for properties in national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty, and areas designated as 'rural' for this purpose, of which there are now 35. The Act extends this power to other areas. The Government will specify procedures and timescales in regulations, which will be laid before Parliament as soon as possible
	requires landlords to give their tenants information on the costs and responsibilities of home ownership. The Government will specify the matters on which information is to given in an order, which will be laid before Parliament as soon as possible
	enables landlords of secure tenants to seek an order suspending the right to buy for a specified period in respect of the tenancy on the grounds of anti-social behaviour
	ends the little-used Rent to Mortgage scheme from 18 July 2005 (eight months after Royal Assent)
	transfers jurisdiction over appeals by tenants denied the Right to Buy on the grounds that their homes are particularly suitable for occupation by elderly persons from the Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister, to residential property tribunals in England. This will take place on a date to be determined by the Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister, which is likely to be in the spring of 2005.
	All these changes except the last three came into effect on 18 January 2005. Mostly, they do not affect applications for the Right to Buy made before that date, apart from the following:
	the extended qualification period does not apply to existing tenants
	landlords have been given discretion to waive the repayment of discount in respect of disposals which take place after 18 January
	provisions relating to deferred resale agreements apply to any agreements made after 18 January
	information for tenants will be provided to all tenants regardless of whether an application has been made for the Right to Buy or not; and
	the transfer of jurisdiction for elderly exclusion appeals will be dependent upon the date of the appeal rather than the date of the Right to Buy application.
	The changes automatically apply to the Preserved Right to Buy (available to tenants transferred with their homes from local authorities to registered social landlords, mainly under large-scale voluntary transfer arrangements) (see section 171C of the Housing Act 1985), also and, with the exception of the last two, to the Right to Acquire scheme (see section 17 of the Housing Act 1996). Provision has to be made to continue orders suspending the Right to Buy because of antisocial behaviour in cases where the tenant ceases to be a secure tenant, but has a Preserved Right to Buy or the Right to Acquire, so that their right to purchase their home is still suspended.
	The Preserved Right to Buy regulations and to the Right to Acquire regulations will be replaced with new regulations which reflect these changes. These will be made and laid before Parliament as soon as possible.

Supporting People Programme

Mike Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what formula was used for the outline allocation for the 2005–06 Supporting People programme; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Supporting People grant allocations in 2005–06 have been informed by the use of a needs based distribution formula which aims to ensure that funding better reflects relative need.
	The new Supporting People distribution formula was specifically developed for the Supporting People programme and takes into account levels of deprivation, population and social economic factors within an authority.
	Detailed information on the formula and its use is available on the Supporting People web site at: http://www.spkweb.org.uk/Subjects/Finance/Distribution formula/